Dark Era
by Muse Of The Risen Angel
Summary: Ivalice has changed, sinister creatures infest it, angels try to destroy it. In this wartorn era over two centuries after the events of Final Fantasy XII, follow Magnus as he seeks to discover his heritage and shape the future of the war. Accepting BIOs
1. Prologue

_**"Looking back on history, most would say the coming of the Cataclysm was sudden and unpredictable. They are not entirely correct. A certain buildup of Mist was noted by the researchers of Draklor Laboratories in Archadia and their Rozarrian counterparts, this, coupled with the steady increase in the appearance of powerful elementals, spirits, vampires, undead, and various other such arcane beings, leads me to believe that the more supernaturally attuned residence of Ivalice felt it coming long before the residence of our civilized society ever realized what was going on, even if only on a subconscious level.**_

_**Regardless of the buildup, the first strike was beyond what anyone could ever have anticipated. One and a half centuries after the liberation of Dalmasca from Archadian rule, an unprecedented horde broke out of the earth in Rozarria; it was a legion of demons far beyond any the Rozarrian Emperor could possibly repelled, even if the demons had not made their entrance inside the empire, away from the well patrolled borders. The Rozarrians fell, and the land was overrun with diverse Infernal Lords claiming their own pieces of the conquest.**_

_**It was then that the second unexpected visitors arrived. Ships saw them arrive at the Ridorana Cataract. A mighty host of winged beings shining with holy light descended from the heavens and built up the ancient lighthouse as a mighty fortress. At first they were praised as saviors, but they soon made their intentions clear. They were not here to save us, regardless of our plight, the only reason they were here was to annihilate the demons, even if they had to kill us all to do it. Entire armies were wiped out when they got anywhere near an angel attack on demon territory.**_

_**This led to Emperor Solidor's decision to consolidate and build up his armed forces. As a result, Archadia now has the best equipped and most advanced military in the world with some of the greatest airships ever seen in service only half a century after the fall of Rozarria, far outstripping anything ever seen in history, though even it's forces were hard pressed to hold of the infernal beings. It became the safest refuge for any who wished to flee the expansionist and highly destructive battles of the numerous Infernal Lords and their less numerous but just as dreadful Angelic counterparts.**_

_**Nobody at all had anticipated what would happen to the less mundane residence of the world, like the elementals, vampires, and spirits. Some became mercenaries for Infernal Lords and Angelic Generals. Most others went their own way and some tried to establish their own territory for the first time in centuries. Small groups even assigned themselves the protection of the more mundane creatures, namely us.**_

_**After many years of constant conflict, the war settled into an unstable stalemate. Now, most of the Infernal Lords are contained in Rozarria. The Angels still patrol the borders of demon territory, but for the most part they remain in the fortress monasteries they have constructed, like the one on Mt. Bur-Omisace. Disturbingly, they also have started to target any being they believe could be helping demon. The white feather is as feared as the black talon.**_

_**The arcane natives of our scarred world prowl outside the walls of Rabanastre and the borders of Archadia, though I would be a fool to think none of them made it inside either. Some of these beings are friendly, others are not. Archadia remains the bastion of security for us all who are Hume, Bangaa, Seeq, Viera, Nu Mous, or Moogle. In fact, clans are frequently hired by the Archadian military for hunting just about anything that isn't Hume, Bangaa, Seeq, Viera, Nu Mous, or Moogle. With a depleted military, some cities, like Rabanastre, have actually had to contract clans for the majority of their defense.**_

_**Thus is the state of our world"**_

_**- The Musings of Nigmog the Magi**_

_**

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**_

"Boy! Get up, it's nearly midday!" My father's voice had a volume and gruff tone entirely at odds to its high pitch. I awoke blearily and stared up at my ceiling with half lidded eyes. I groaned rolled over. Something blue shot through my open bedroom door and smacked me in the face and instantly I was soaked to the skin with ice water.

"AH!" I fell off the bed with a thud. How in hell did that man cast spells around corners? "I'm up, I'm up already!" I shouted. I think I heard a 'humph', but nothing else. I untangled myself from my sheets and quickly dressed myself. I had dried by the time I'd gotten my pants on. That's one of the perks of being half wind elemental.

That probably requires some explanation, doesn't it?

My mother was a wind elemental, a powerful one who took a Hume-like form. I was born the night she stumbled into Rabanastre. She died, but my dad took me in. He isn't my real father, of course. I doubt the crossbreed child of a moogle and an elemental, even one with a Hume-like appearance, would look like a relatively normal Hume anyway.

I stare at my mirror, taking in my appearance. My short wavy white hair, not actually as attention grabbing as you'd think here in Ivalice, was almost completely dry and provided a contrast to my lightly tanned skin. I peered closer to look into my mismatched eyes, one a pale blue and the other stormy gray, another of my oddities, and a source of much taunting as a child.

"Magnus, get down here!" My father's high moogle voice miraculously managed to rumble throughout the house.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way!" I shouted as I quickly finished off my ensemble and pulled on a pair of gray boots to finish my ensemble, a pair of worn black pants, a gray shirt, and an open dark gray kimono. I grabbed my gloves to put on later as I jogged out the door and nearly fell down the stairs in my hurry. My father wasn't the most patient man and I had no desire to get drenched again.

"Well? What do you think you're doing staying in bed so late?" And there was the moogle who raised me, Nigmog the Magi. He sat on a stool in the room that tripled as our kitchen, living room, and his workshop, which was one of the reason's I always try to eat most meals out. Aged scrolls, books, and arcane instruments were strewn all over his desk, the frayed colorful sitting room chairs, the wash basin, covering the nearly invisible elaborately designed rug, there was even one poking out of the oven.

A flask filled with a bubbling glowing blue substance that couldn't seem to decide whether it was gas or liquid sat awkwardly above a burner on his desk, the source of the room's cloying sweet odor assaulting my senses I assumed, and small scraps of food littered the desk's surface. I have no idea how he hasn't managed to accidentally poison himself or turn himself into some kind of hideous abomination in all these years. He seemed like an extension of the room, wearing a robe of mismatched bright colors in his disheveled manner and a small green cap perched crookedly upon his head. His gray fur made him look as old as the scrolls and books haphazardly scattered about, and he was old, which somehow seemed to make the piercing look in his beady eyes and stern scowl that much more intimidating. I had no desire to deal with it.

"I'm going out." I announced suddenly. I made an abrupt turn towards the door. He could be very trying on my nerves, especially right after I woke up.

"Stop right there." He snapped at me. Then he sighed and his tone softened. "We need to talk, the war has developed while you slept." That stopped me. My head whipped around. I was curious and perhaps a bit nervous, the war had been going on for over half a century, he wouldn't mention the war unless the it could possibly effect us at the moment or at least soon.

"You are aware of the Demon Lord who established Raithwall's tomb as his fortress?" He tapped the piece of parchment in front of him, I realized, belatedly, it was a map.

"Yeah, they haven't moved out of there in years though." I hated it when he forces me to lead into his answer, but it seemed to help his process.

"A force of demons entered the Westersands. Maybe just a scout force, I'm not sure, but the angel host on Bur-Omisace sent a skirmish force to deal with them. Nobody's sure what happened, some elementals must have gotten involved if the sandstorm is any indication, but, of course, because of the storm nobody can tell what's going on." I stared at him blankly. Skirmishes were anything but unheard of, why was this special? He sighed heavily at my look.

"This is the first time the skirmishes have occurred in our direction, boy. The point is, the war may be coming in our direction." Oh, that explained it, but he wasn't done.

"I want you to be careful, alright? We're... leaving for Archadia in a week." He blurted out the last part. I was stunned.

"What? Wait, this has been my home my entire life, we can't just leave!" I complained, he was overreacting. "We can't just run for the hills because some fight was in our general direction!" He stared harshly, but his voice remained calm, though it had gained a hard edge.

"We can't just wait for the next battle to be on our doorstep either, then it might be too late. My decision is final." His eyes softened in sympathy, "I know you don't like this, I'd like you to use the next week to prepare to leave... and say goodbye." He sighed out the last part quietly, I only barely heard him. Though that may have been because I was still angry. He pulled over a book and reached down for something behind his desk, signaling an end to the conversation. I turned to go, I wasn't sure where to, but I couldn't just sit quietly after that..

"Magnus," He said quietly. I turned and a blade thudded into the door frame six inches from my face. I nearly jumped out of my skin and openly gawked at him.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He had thrown a sword at me from across the room! I was not even sure how a Moogle could have that much strength, however, he only had a small satisfied smile on his face.

"I just thought I'd tell you that I finished engraving the runes, it should work fine now." He kept smiling. I blinked and took a better look at the sword. It was mine, the simple black hilt, gleaming reflective bladed weapon I had damaged weeks earlier in a brawl with a group of hunters. The blade had a pair of runes on it, one on each side of the blade, both signifying fire. They had been nearly scraped off during the fight. He must have spent most of the past few weeks on this to get it done so quickly and thoroughly. Which probably means he thinks I'll need it...

I yanked the blade from the door frame and gave my father one last mixed look.

"...Thanks Dad."

"Stay safe." He called after me, "And get some milk while you're out!" I could have sworn he was bipolar, but I guess this is his way of showing he cares. I opened the door and stepped out into the overcast streets of Rabanastre.

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_Note from the Author_

_Well I hope you all liked that, I promise later chapters will be longer. I intend this fic to follow Magnus as he journeys through Ivalice in search of his own identity._ _Your characters will become some of the biggest players in that plot, some may even supplant Magnus as the main character at times. So, without further preamble, I present the Bio sheet. Please submit BIOs via reviews._

**Name:** _Magnus Cataegis_

**Nickname:** _Mag to his closest old friends_

**Age:** _19_

**Species:** _Wind Elemental Hybrid_

**Gender:** _Male_

**General Appearance:** _Magnus wears plain black pants, gray combat boots, a gray T-shirt, black gloves, and an open dark gray kimono. He has wavy white hair, cut short, and mismatched eyes, one pale blue and the other a stormy gray._

**Personality:** _Though a bit reserved at times, Magnus is known to be a loyal friend and generally possess a friendly demeanor. He can be a bit oblivious from time to time, but on the whole he is quite intelligent. He has a phobia of confined spaces, bearable on the surface but harder for him underground._

**Weapon:** _Magnus uses a one handed sword with a black hilt, its blade has a pair of runes signifying fire on them. They allow the blade to become burn with fire without harming it or the user but remaining lethal to the user's enemies and opens the door for many techniques for Magnus._

**Powers:** _(Secret)_

**Background:** _Magnus's mother was a wind elemental, powerful enough to possess a human form. She stumbled into Rabanastre and died shortly after his birth, only days later. He was taken in and raised by the respected the Magi, a venerable mage, who treated him as a son. Magnus spent his childhood on the streets of Rabanastre, playing and getting into trouble with other young residents of city. An old clan member taught him how to use a sword, and Nigmog carved runes into it to enchant it. To this day, he know very little of his own heritage._

_Of course, because I plan to more fully develop Magnus and his history during the story, this BIO is little incomplete. This is why I'm going to show you Nigmog's BIO as well, before we get to the blank sheet._

**Name:** _Nigmog_

**Title:** _The Magi_

**Age:** _69_

**Species:** _Moogle_

**Gender:** _Male_

**General Appearance:** _Nigmog is gray furred old moogle with beady black eyes who wears a bizarrely colorful cobbled together robe and a simple perpetually crooked green cap._

**Personality:** _Nigmog is a stern parent, and more than a little neurotic at times. Despite his methods, he is very protective of his adopted son and there are few things he wouldn't do to protect him. He is not trusting of strangers, and a bit gruff, but he he tries to be polite, until they give him a reason not to be anyway._

_Nigmog loves knowledge and study. His areas of expertise are magic and history. He uses his own expertise with magics as his source of livelihood, enchanting weapons with runes engraved with magicite. Knowledge is one of the few things he'll never turn down, ever._

**Weapon:** _Nigmog only carries a small unremarkable dagger on his person_

**Powers:** _Nigmog is a practitioner of magicks. He is skilled in healing and other areas of white magick. His mastery of black magick has let him devastate entire squads of demons with relative ease. His skill in other less famous areas of magic are less comprehensive, he only knows a small amount of time magic._

_Surprisingly, he also isn't half bad with his dagger._

**Background:** _In his youth as spry young moogle, Nigmog traveled widely, for he was eager to see the world. He fell in with adventurers and learned magicks from them as he traveled, gradually accumulating a large collection and not insignificant skill. When the Demon invasions began, he spent nearly a decade fighting in the Dalmascan royal army. He quit when the nation began hiring out it's defense to clans and settled down in the city of Rabanastre. He often hunted stray monsters and demons outside the city walls. It was on one of these excursions that he discovered Magnus's mother. The elemental woman was injured, and he helped her back to the city. She died shortly there after, but not before he had promised her to care for her son. After Magnus fell into his guardianship, the old moogle abandoned his trips outside the walls and built up his practice of enchantment to help support the boy and himself. So he has done for the last nineteen years, but now he fears Rabanastre will not be safe if the war threatens to erupt once more._

_So now I'll give you the blank version, have fun!_

**Name:** _(This is pretty self explanatory)_

**Nickname/Title:** _(This is just what your character is called or what they are known as besides their name)_

**Age:** _(In years, how old are they? Anything older than 14 is fine really, there is no age cap)_

**Species:** _(There is room for a lot of variation here, and while I would prefer it if you remained somewhere in the vein of spirits, undead, elementals, vampires, werewolves, eldritch abominations, Chimeras the result of dark rituals, angels, fallen angels, dark gods and their messengers, etc., and all Ivalice has to offer,_ _Hume, Bangaa, Seeq, Viera, Nu Mous, and Moogles, please feel free to deviate, don't even feel you must be a supernatural being, I left Archadia as the untouched technological city for a reason, you could even make a Judge Magister if you really wanted to, though I recommend checking the reviews first, I don't want too many of those. One thing, no Aegyl, it just gets to confusing for me to have both them and angels.)_

**Gender:** _(I think you guys can figure this one out)_

**General Appearance:** _(What do they look like? Hair color? Skin tone? Eye color? Relative Height? Distinguishing features? What clothes do they where?)_

**Personality:** _(This is where you tell me how your character acts, and their fears and passion. Even their motivations)_

**Weapon:** _(Pretty simple, tell me what your character uses to fight their enemies)_

**Powers/Abilities:** _(This is all up to you, but don't feel that it must be magic. It can be, but there's a reason I set up Archadia to be technologically advanced, don't be afraid to be a machinist. Don't even be afraid to simply create very skilled swordsman)_

**Background:** _(I hear a lot of people don't like this part, but this really helps me get to understand your character, what motivates them, what led them to become what they are now, it's okay to leave me blanks to fill in their past, but do try to put some effort into it)_

_Remember, I need villains as well as heroes.  
_

_Also, if other people have already submitted BIOs, take a glance at the review page to make sure you aren't too similar to something someone else has already done._


	2. Darkness Order 1: Good Hunting

_**"Magnus has shown sparks of his wind elemental blood lately, he runs faster, jumps higher, and even seems to act more prone to erratic actions. I keep trying to understand how his heritage may affect him, but it is difficult. Very little lore of wind elementals exists in Dalmasca's records. I worry that one day it will begin to overshadow the part of him I have known as a son, the day his heritage finally comes to find him."**_  
_**  
- Musings of Nigmog the Magi**__**

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**_

I wasn't really sure where I was headed. The streets of Rabanastre were a little emptier than usual, but they still managed to bustle with diverse persons. Merchants peddled their wares and bartered in the bazaar, street urchins weaved through the crowd, stealing everything from gil, to fruit, to shiny baubles. Everything seemed to be a little more somber, though, and I do not think it's just the gloomy gray sky. My father was not the only one put off by the skirmishes.

"Just the man I was looking for!" An arm was thrown roughly over my shoulder and I nearly lost my balance craning my neck around. "Mag! How ya doing?" I would have been able to identify him by exuberant shouting alone; his lopsided grin, framed by shaggy blond hair, and the cold touch of the bracer he always wore on his left arm were superfluous. A genuine smile tugged at my mouth.

"Hey Wes, good to see you. Did you get your katana out of the sewer?" I have known Wesley Kendrick for years. We fell in with each other about five years ago, he had just taken to the streets of Lowtown on his own, and I had been exploring Lowtown, mostly because my father told me not to. We both got cheated by a Seeq merchant selling 'genuine' sunstones. Let's just say the Seeq had to buy a new inventory and repair his stall. Thus, a friendship was born. Wes stepped away and dropped his arm. His grin turned a little sheepish.

"Hey, I don't need that thing anymore," he opened his black jacket and displayed a pair of short swords on his belt. "Custom made, my friend. Custom made."

"Yeah, for a moogle I'll bet." I laughed. He couldn't afford something like that. Now his face was a picture of mock indignation and he had his arms crossed.

"I'll have you know it was a Bangaa that ordered them. Sure, he was a little on the short side, but these are real weapons, Mag." He snatched one of the swords from his belt. "Observe the sublime craftsmanship, the keen edge, look how light it is. The swing is effortless." He demonstrated with a swipe. "Ha!"

"Hah hah! When did you become a salesman?" I grinned at his display.

"Well, that's what the blacksmith told the Bangaa anyway," He shrugged and replaced the sword on his belt, though he left it unzipped, "still, they're pretty nice blades. I see the old man fixed yours by the way." He indicated the black sheathe I was holding. I held it up for him to see.

"Right back to one hundred percent, rejoice and take cover, I'm armed." He chuckled good naturedly and eyed the weapon enviously.

"I don't suppose you could convince him to-"

"Nope, he doesn't like you, remember?" I raised an eyebrow and he grimaced.

"Yeah, I'm a 'bad influence'. What? Does he think I'll become a worse influence just because I have flaming weaponry?"

"You'd probably end up setting yourself on fire, Wes." I quipped. He just shrugged.

"Details, details, but listen," He raised his left hand, the one clad in a black fingerless glove and the bracer on his forearm, in a silencing gesture, "this isn't why I was looking for you. Walk with me, I've got plans." I cocked my head to the side.

"Ah, you have another cunning plan. Will there be any trips through the sewer to visit the surprise giant octopus involved?" I was sarcastic, but I wasn't exaggerating. I still have bruises from that incident. He just rolled his eyes.

"Just follow me, I'll explain on the way." He turned and left. I supposed that whatever it was had to be good if he was so insistent. Wesley had a knack for finding the interesting things to do in Rabanastre. With a pang, I remembered my father's plans. I needed to tell Wes I was leaving at some point. There was no reason I had to do it immediately though, and I wanted to savor the moment. Live in the moment, and have some fun. Wesley would have liked that as a motto.

"How much did you say?" I was staring incredulously. Wesley was grinning like a Cheshire cat. He had lead me to just outside the aerodome, near the Westersand entrance. The sandstorms were visible on the horizon as swirling masses of sandy haze.

"Almost ten thousand gil and the mark is just outside our walls; plenty of money for the taking, for those with the right skills." I would have had to think he was greedy if I didn't know him better. Before he went to the streets, Wesley had grown up in a foster home. He still cared for that foster home and tried to help support them whenever he had the money to spare. I still was not sure I would accept it though, something was wrong with this.

"They wouldn't put such a mark on something simple and easy. Are you sure we're up to it, Wes?"

"No, they don't, and no, you aren't." Wesley hadn't spoken; this voice was a little gruffer and sounded lazy. We turned as one and stared. The man was tall, young, but older than me and Wesley. He had spiked white hair, a color unusual in pure blooded humans, and, even rarer, red irises. He was not an albino, however, assuming he wasn't covering it up with makeup; his skin was a caramel color. A blue jacket hung on his shoulders and underneath it a black tie hung unfastened around his neck over his yellow buttoned shirt. A pair of baggy blue jeans and combat boots rounded out the ensemble. Of course, the real attention grabber was the battle axe strapped to his back. All in all, I got the impression of a sloppy axe murderer businessman. Those red eyes gave us a disinterested look of boredom.

"What was that?" Wes challenged with a raised fist. The man just shook his head and sighed as if wishing he hadn't gone to the trouble of commenting in the first place.

"There's a battle going on over there," he pointed towards the sandstorms, "And the mark is in the outskirts of it all, it's some kind of rogue demon that's been sighted near the city over the past few days."

"We can handle it." I said with more bravado than I felt. Neither of us had ever fought a demon before. He just sighed and shook his head.

"Leave it to the professionals, kid." The man reached into his coat pocket and produced round amulet. A bird of prey grasping a spear in one talon and the dark form of a demon in the other was engraved on its surface, the symbol of Clan Venator. Clan Venator was one of the most notorious hunting guilds in Ivalice, and easily amongst the most influential. I tried to look unimpressed, I don't think I succeeded.

"So, you're a Journeyman hunter, lad?" I suppose this is part of the reason Wesley brought me to the aerodome.

"Kari! Just the woman we were looking for!" Wes grinned. The red haired woman smiled broadly. Judging by the grease stains on her khaki tank top, open short sleeve light brown button down shirt, and olive colored shorts, she had just been working on her airship. Karimah, Kari to friends, had found herself in Rabanastre about three years ago after her mentor's airship crashed and stranded her. Well, she and her mentor's pet weasel, who was probably stealing someone's pocket change at the moment. The white haired man nodded.

"Voram Bane," I guessed that was his name. Then Voram did an about face and walked out towards the desert.

"Wait, what's a Journeyman hunter?" I shouted. He didn't even slow down.

"A Journeyman is a traveling hunter working for a clan." Kari explained, "They just wander from city to city, taking the highest marks, they aren't lightweights ya." She turned her focus on us again. "So how can I help you lads?"

"We're going to get that mark before that stupid hunter!" Wesley jumped in. "With the three of us, there's no way we could lose." Kari shrugged.

"Sorry lad, I just spent a few hours on the ship, a shower and a fresh change of clothes are calling my name," she jabbed a finger towards Voram's disappearing form, "and it looks like you're going to have to hurry."

"Ah, come on." Wesley deflated with disappointment.

"How's the airship going anyway?" I asked her. The wreck of the airship she had arrived in had been under repair for the last few years. Wesley and I had even volunteered ourselves to help her repair it, not that either of us knew much about airships. Wesley liked the idea of adventuring about in an airship; I guess I just liked the idea of flying. The problem was finding the right parts.

"Not so great," Kari frowned and shook her head, "I'm actually pretty close but I still need a few parts, and those parts are more than a little expensive ya."

"Well, we'll kick some of the reward money your way then," I said, she smiled.

"And I'll make sure you're on the first flight, lads. You should get going though ya?" She waved and started off back towards the city.

"Damn, she's right," Wesley was trying to look after the hunter, "I can't even see that guy anymore."

"This was your idea, lead the way." I told him.

"Don't mind if I do." He grinned and we both set off at a fast jog into the desert. I hoped the sandstorms would hold off the parts closer to the city until we were done.

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**Wesley's POV**

Okay, it was possible I had made a bad decision. But how was I supposed to know the sandstorms would get closer to the city? The wind was making it hard to walk straight and flinging up sand all over. It felt like it was trying to flay my skin off. I had my forearm up trying to protect my face. I glanced back at Magnus, the guy wasn't having as much trouble walking as I was, wind elemental side of the family I guessed, though he still had his forearm up to his face protectively.

"You still think we can find the mark in this!" He was shouting, but I could barely hear him.

"It's supposed to be near some canyon around here! We're close!" I thought we were anyway, it's not like I could see more than twenty feet ahead of me clearly right now. Suddenly, the wind picked up. I lost my footing and fell over. "Ugh." I was rolling head over heels down a sand dune. I didn't even realize there was a slope there.

"Wes!" Mag's voice was very faint and getting fainter. Then it was gone, drowned out by the wind. I couldn't even see him anymore. I spat sand out of my mouth and scrambled to my feet. I looked up to see… a canyon. It's always funny how things work out, isn't it?

"Hey!" I shouted back out into the storm. No answer came. If I can't hear Mag, I guess Mag can't hear me. I looked back at the canyon. To charge ahead alone or try to find Mag in all this mess? I pulled my new short swords from my belt.

"No guts no glory and all that…" I muttered, could barely hear myself. I started into the canyon with a blade in each hand. "Hello!" Something heavy slammed into my side and I went sprawling. "Umph!" This wasn't my day. Someone tall and familiar loomed over me.

"I told you to stay out of the desert." That damned clan guy, something Bane, I think.

"You!" I yelled and got back on my feet, I think he fractured my rib.

"Me," He nodded. "Go home kid." Bastard.

"What's the deal with hitting me!" He almost made me drop my swords too, and I had just gotten them! He gestured to the large rock sitting where I'd been standing. Oh, it must have fallen from the canyon wall. Still, I couldn't give him the satisfaction. "You could have just shouted a warning!" But he had turned away and started walking further into the canyon. "Hey! You're not going to steal my mark!" I ran after him, there was no way some stuck up clan member was going to take the cash from my foster home, and Kari's airship!

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**Magnus' POV**

After Wesley went down, I called after him and even tried the follow but the sands themselves were shifting all over the place. Not to say anything of the wind, I was quickly utterly lost, just stumbling blindly around in the desert. I really needed to stop following Wesley's plans. Then the wind stopped blowing. It was so sudden I overbalanced and fell over, the wind was just gone. That wasn't quite right though. I was in the eye of a hurricane, best I could tell. A wall of wind and sand swirled around a large, calm pillar of air.

"Greetings Magnus, wind child." I scrambled around and stared up at a shadowed figure. He, at least his voice sounded masculine, was standing atop a rocky outcropping, his form obscured by dark gray cloaks and scarves. Half his face was obscured by one of his gray scarves and shadowed by a squat wide conical straw hat.

"Who on earth are you?" I asked as I shakily took to my feet. Something about this man was oddly familiar. It was unnerving. "How do you know my name?"

"I am Zephyrus, the west wind. As to how I know you, all secrets will be revealed to you in good time." He didn't so much as twitch a muscle. "So tell me, wind child, what brings you to my storm?" So he was a wind elemental. He must be powerful then, if this whole storm was his doing. My father believed there was a whole clan at work.

"I'm hunting a mark with my friend," there was a thought; "Can you locate him? This is your storm." The brim of his hat bobbed slightly, I guessed it was a nod.

"Yes, your half dark friend. You choose fitting companions, wind child. He is approaching your quarry as we speak. Fear not for his life, he is more than even he knows. Not so unlike you, truly." Okay, he has managed to confuse me.

"'Half dark'? What do you mean like me?" All I got was a bizarre deep dry chuckle.

"You will know soon enough." At once he was no longer standing on the rocky outcropping. He was standing not four meters from me. I started in surprise and took an involuntary step back. "Do tell me, how much do you know of your mother?" I froze.

"You knew my mother?" I only knew what my father knew of her; very little. He only knew her for a matter of days before I was born and she died.

"I knew her as family, but that is not why I have chosen to speak to you. I'm here because you did not know her, and you do not know yourself." I got a bizarre feeling, like he was staring right through me.

"Soon enough it will be time for you to discover your mother, but now I will help you discover the heritage she gave you." The he was right on top of me. A gloved fist closed around my neck and hauled me off the ground. I gasped for air and clawed at it, fingers tearing futilely at his arm. He held up his other arm and a sphere of compressed swirling air formed in his open palm along with something else, a slight whitish glow of some magick of some kind. "That heritage is in your blood, perhaps this will awaken it. Pray your blood is not so diluted by filth that your mother's legacy is lost to it." He slammed the sphere into my gut and my world exploded. I howled with pain. Zephyrus dropped me and I gasped for air.

"Wha-what?" I can safely say I had no idea what was going on.

"Now I must go and continue delaying the demonic host. Farewell, Magnus, if you are truly your mother's son I hope we may meet again." He leapt high and farther than should be possible, and his form fell into the whirling sand. Then the column closed and the storm returned full force. I scrambled to my feet, the whole experience felt dreamlike. I wasn't entirely sure it was real. The pain in my stomach was gone but I felt a peculiar warmth spreading from my torso to my limbs. It felt like… raw power. Then it began to build, at first as a mild ache, then a forceful persistent pressure building in my head. I grasped my head and staggered. My head felt like it was going to burst. Before I knew it, I was levitating off the ground. A surge of painfully euphoric power rocketed through my body and then… oblivion.

* * *

**Wesley's POV**

"Stop," Mr. big bad clan hunter stopped and held up a hand to make me stop.

"What now? I told you, I'm not going back!" The guy couldn't take a hint. He just sighed and shook his head.

"This is your last chance..."

"Or what?" I mocked. The wind was less extreme here in the canyon and I could talk normally without shouting. I glared at, Bane I think he said his name was, challenging him to try something. He shrugged.

"Fine," He pointed a hand at the canyon wall... no, he was pointing at a cave! Why hadn't I noticed it? "Thunder." A bolt of white lightning shot out of his fingertips and struck rock next to the cave opening with a violent explosion of rock shards, light and shrieking sound. Then there was a scream, a distinctly female scream.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" That girl had a set of lungs, that's for sure. A black and white blur darted from the crevice and glared at us accusingly with bizarre spiral purple eyes. I felt my jaw drop. Whatever image of the demon I had built up in my head, this girl was not it. For the most part, she looked like a pretty attractive, if a little short, hume girl. Or at least a hume girl who decided to wear binding bandages and a fur trimmed hip length leather coat as her only upper body coverage, elbow length black gloves, and black pants. Other than that she looked pretty normal, and even that wouldn't get too many stares on a busy day in the bazaar, except for the purple eyes, the long white hair… and the cat ears… and the large leathery wings folded tightly so she wouldn't get swept away in the wind,… and the demonic tail, alright, so maybe she couldn't have passed for a hume, but I was expecting some kind of fire breathing hideous monstrosity. I did the first thing that jumped to mind.

"He did it!" I shouted and jabbed a finger at Bane, but the hunter was already lunging towards her with his axe raised. I didn't even see him draw that huge thing! Instantly, a flash of metal whipped out and deftly batted the axe blade aside. Bane recovered and backed off a little. The girl also took a few steps back, though she looked angry more than anything else.

"Can't a girl just take refuge from a storm without someone trying to kill her!" The demon complained as she brandished her weapon, some kind of mechanical sword. I suddenly remembered why I was here, holding a pair of swords. I raised my blades and charged. A bolt of black lightning soared from her free hand and smacked me right in the chest. I went sprawling and my chest felt like it was on fire. I stumbled back to my feet and Bane called out to me.

"Be careful, she's an Armash demon. I thought they were extinct" He was holding his axe aloft again and not facing me.

"What the hell does that mean?" I shouted back and barely raised one of my blades to block the demon girl's sword.

"It means I'm going to kill you before you can do the same to me!" She growled. I broke the sword lock and dealt a flurry of blows from both swords. She didn't give ground; she just gracefully parried and blocked each individual blow with her sword. I was frustrated; her one blade seemed to be much faster than either of mine. Suddenly she whirled and deflected another axe blow from Bane. This time she started to have trouble, alternating between blocking my light and fast blades and Bane's heavy axe blows. I could practically hear her teeth grinding in frustration. Bane reached out and a burst of fire sprung from his palm. An equal burst of black fire met it half way and with a gesture she channeled the backlash from both around her, straight at me. I leapt away from the fire and fell flat on my back. By the time I could get up, Bane and the demon girl were going at it. The hunter was surprisingly quick with bring the axe blade and handle up in time to block the demon girl's far faster mechanical sword. Not fast enough though. The demon carved a bloody gash in Bane's arm through his blue jacket. The hunter gasped in pain, but threw out his hand.

"Fira!" A wave of fire erupted towards the girl and consumed the area around her in six foot radius. The smoke cleared and... She was completely unharmed. She crouched amid the new heated glass in the center of the blast area with her wings unfurled and wrapped around her like a protective cocoon. Bane glared at her with red eyes as he held a glowing white hand over the gash on his arm.

"Enough!" The girl shouted in frustration. She held up her sword and its mechanical parts shifted. The blade folded back and suddenly Bane was staring down a gun barrel. Well, that wasn't good. She fired. Bane had the flat of his axe blade up near his face just before the shot but the bullet only glanced off it, hitting his uninjured arm instead of splattering his brains. He staggered, the demon raised her arm and a sphere of shadow slammed into the hunter. He whipped up a shell of magick at the last second but he was still sent flying. He struck the canyon wall and slumped, only moving very slowly.

Why was I still sitting on my ass gaping like a fish?

"Hey!" I shouted and charged. She turned and... Fired her gunblade. My arm moved and the bullet deflected off into the sand harmlessly by my left sword. We both blinked. How in hell had I done that? I decided not to question good luck and started to charge again. She kept firing and, again and again, I kept deflecting with my short swords by sheer instinct. I had no idea how, but it was working. By the time I was within striking distance, she had reverted her gunblade back to its sword form. She was still fast, but seemed a little slower, maybe the bout with Bane had tired her out. I rained blows on her defense until one strike cut a shallow red line on her shoulder. She gnashed her teeth and lashed out with her blade, faster than before. I saw her sword stab my stomach more than I felt it. I did feel the fist shrouded in dark energy she threw when it connected with my jaw. I went rolled and tumbled away from her on the sand from the force of the punch. Then I sat up. That was weird, I shouldn't have been be able to move properly with a shattered jaw and a disemboweled stomach, but my jaw only ached a little and when I looked down I only saw blood surrounding a shallow cut that had already stopped bleeding. Score one for my luck I guess.

"You aren't hume, are you?" The demon panted, she was out of breadth and staring at me irritably. I stood shakily; the fight had taken a lot out of me too.

"Nope, I'm pretty sure I'm hume. I'm just lucky." I held up my blades. "Ready to die this time?" She rolled her eyes at me.

"Whatever lies you tell yourself, you can't be fully hume, but I don't really care. I'm going to end this." The demon held up a fist consumed in a sphere of darkness. Where did she get the energy for these spells? The sphere rocketed towards me and erupted into an orb of black flame the size of a chocobo making a beeline to me.

"Be gone!" A thunderous but oddly familiar voice boomed out as if from the storm itself. A figure suddenly stood between me and the dark fireball of doom. The black fare exploded but only flowed around the figure, as if there was an invisible shield, and dissipated. I got a look at whoever had just saved my life, wavy white hair, short gray kimono flapping in the wind, black pants and gray boots, this all seemed familiar...

It was Magnus.

"Mag! Man, I'm glad to see you, what's with the voice thing?" I slumped with relief but stiffened instantly when he glanced back at me without recognition. There was something seriously wrong with him. Both of his eyes had turned stormy gray and his pupils had turned white and both his pupils and the whites of his eyes glowed with a harsh white light.

"Uh, man? What happened to you?" I took a step back hesitantly. Those eyes were really creepy, though I wasn't sure if it was the glowing or the blank unfamiliar expression. He turned to face to demon girl.

"You have no business here, demon, none of your kind shall cross this desert," His voice was firm and but strangely emotionless. He raised his right arm across his torso. The demon girl seemed almost as freaked out as I was, but she seemed to snap out of it and stomped the ground in frustration.

"Look, I'm not with any of those Infernal Lord thralls, I just got trapped in the storm while I was passing through, I just-!"

"It does not matter," Magnus, or whatever it was that looked like him, interrupted her. "Be gone, demon." He swiped his arm across his body and a visible arc of compressed air shot towards the demon like a bullet. Her eyes widened and a cloudlike barrier of darkness sprung up in front of her. The wind blade broke on the barrier but a piercing shriek rang out a moment later. The dark shield hadn't stopped the blade entirely. The girl had a long bloody gash on her leg that she was clutching at. She was nearly driven to her knees. I guessed she probably would have been able to stop it if she had been at full strength but after dealing with me and that hunter and putting so much into that last attack, she seemed pretty out of it.

"How did you do that?" I gasped. Magnus definitely hadn't done anything like that before. The most his wind elemental heritage had ever shown before was knocking someone off balance with a gust!

"Be gone!" Magnus shouted and thrust both his hands in front of him. The wind shifted and roared down to Magnus and towards the demon. The demon panicked. She wrapped herself in some kind of protective shadowy cocoon and extended her wings. She was flung by Magnus' torrent of wind, bouncing off the canyon wall up and out of the canyon and away in an uncontrollable tumble to the turbulence of the storm. The demon was gone.

"Mag?" I asked uncertainly. Magnus, or whatever it was, lowered his armed and turned to face me. He stared at me with those creepy eyes and opened his mouth to say something. Then his eyes stopped glowing and rolled back. His knees buckled and he collapsed. I was too stunned to do anything for a moment. Then my best friend instincts kicked in and I ran towards him. I knelt next to him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Hey, Mag, are you okay? Wake up!" No response. He was breathing, but barely. I started shaking him.

"Mag! You had better wake up because there is no way in hell I'm performing mouth to mouth! Hey-" I broke off as something cast a shadow over me. It was Bane, there was dried blood smeared on the side of his head from a head wound he probably healed but otherwise he looked fine. He didn't even look at me, he just stared at Magnus.

"What is he?" He sounded entirely calm, like he had not just received a head injury or maybe that was why.

"Honestly, I have no idea anymore, just heal him already!" I nearly shouted at him. He glanced at me and seemed to decide that he wouldn't get answers and drew a glowing feather from his pocket, a phoenix down. He let go of it and it slowly drifted serenely down towards Magnus' face. "Oh for the love of!" I grabbed the feather mid air and shoved it down into my friend's face with all the delicacy of a behemoth. Nothing happened for a second, and then he started coughing and sputtering. He opened his eyes with a gasp, they were their normal mismatched blue and gray now with none of the creepy glowing stuff.

"He's fine." Bane said. He actually sounded surprised by the fact. "I wasn't sure that would work given that he obviously isn't hume." I just ignored him this time and grinned.

"Hey Mag, nice of you to join us. What was that all about?"

* * *

**Magnus' POV**

I was only aware of things in the vaguest way possible. I vaguely understood that my body was moving without my willing it. I was faintly aware of casting magicks of some kind. I had no idea what. Then I felt being shaken, and heard a voice as if it were coming across a great distance. Suddenly, a harsh sobering cold and a comforting warmth spread through my body. I was back to reality. Wesley was sitting over me, shaking me, and weirdly that hunter, Voram Bane I believed, was standing over him with blood on his face. I had to concentrate hard on what Wesley was trying to say. "What?"

"I said, what happened back there, man? You freaked and become some kind of powerhouse?" Wesley was talking quickly. I took one thing at a time and pushed myself into a sitting position and stared him straight in the face.

"I became what?" Wesley started looking a bit impatient.

"You appeared out of nowhere and started flinging around wind blades and stuff; you threw that demon right..." He drifted off at my blank expression and turned incredulous. "You have no idea what I'm talking about!"

"No," I shook my head and that was about all I could muster. The wind elemental I met had said something about my heritage from my mother. What exactly had he done to me?

"He may have been possessed." I had almost completely forgotten about Voram. He was looking down at me with a frown plastered on his face. He was suspicious. His hand was resting on battleaxe handle. "That can cause memory loss." Wesley noticed it too and whirled on the larger man.

"Hey, you want to try something!" My inflamed friend lifted one of his short swords. The hunter glanced between us and let his hand drop.

"Clan Venator has a standing mark on demons," He shrugged, "But in this case, it really isn't worth the effort." With that statement, he did an about face and walked off, swiftly disappearing into the shifting winds of the storm outside the canyon.

"Demons?" I asked Wesley. He just shrugged and sheathed his swords.

"Dunno, let's forget about it and get you back to Rabanastre." He sighed heavily. "This whole trip has been a disaster... what happened to your sword?" Oh no, and my father had just fixed it!

"My father is going to kill me." I groaned.

By the time we returned to the city the sun was near setting. Wesley went off to do whatever it is he does in Lowtown when I'm not around, probably visiting his old foster home, and I headed home. I needed to speak with my father, even if he was angry about the sword; I needed to ask him about my mother. The elemental, Zephyrus, claimed she was family and told me to look into my heritage. My father was the best, and the only, place I had to start.

"Dad! I'm back!" I yelled as I walked in the door. It was as if he hadn't moved all day. He was once again sitting behind his cluttered desk in the cluttered room. Now the pale light that had filtered into the room was gone and a number of orange crystals lining the walls lit the room with flickering dim light. The old moogle was staring at me stonily with his fingers steeped in front of him.

"So, I hear you went out to the Westersands," His voice was deceptively calm, "After I told you about the skirmishes there. What were you thinking?" It was time to get straight to the point.

"Tell me about my mother." I demanded calmly. Nigmog froze as he was preparing a tirade and seemed thrown by the question.

"What? What brings this up now?"

"In the Westersands, I encountered an elemental, the one causing the storm. He claimed my mother as kin and bid me seek my heritage from her." I put a hand to my forehead. The memory was bringing a headache with it. "He called himself Zephyrus. He did something to me… I don't know what, I blacked out. When I woke up, Wesley was standing over me telling me I had just been fighting a demon and won." I sighed and looked the aged magi straight in the eye. "I want to know everything you know about this." My father was silent for a long time. Then he placed his hands on his desk and sighed heavily, his pompom and ears drooping with the rest of him.

"I knew you would ask about her one day," He opened a drawer and started digging around in it. "I barely spoke with her long enough to learn anything. She told me her name was Aella, and made me promise to take care of her son. She didn't live long enough to give you a name herself… I do still have what few worldly materials she was carrying with her." He withdrew two items from his desk. The first was a dirk, a long dagger close to being a short sword. The blade was pure black and the hilt was covered in hume skull motifs. It had a sinister aura that repulsed me. The second item was less repulsive, but more ambiguous. It appeared to be a pendant; a gray blue stone with lines carved into its surface that appeared to represent gusts of wind, and carved wings of some kind wrapped around the sides of the stone, almost protectively.

"What are these?" My face was twisted into a frown and it seemed to aggravate the moogle's already weary expression.

"I don't rightfully know." My father suddenly looked very old, very tired, very fragile. "Both are made of materials not used by mortals normally, but neither of them is carried by the typical wind elemental."

"You know more than you're telling me." I said without raising my eyes from the items. He nodded sagely.

"Some things are better for you to discover yourself, and I only have speculations." He pushed the items towards me. "Take them; maybe they will lead you to answers." I hesitantly put the dirk in my belt and the pendant in my pocket. The weapon still made me feel uneasy, but the repulsion seemed to be purely mental. Oh yes, I was supposed to tell him about my sword.

"Um, I may have lost my sword in the desert..." I braced myself but he just stared blankly for a second. Then he burst out laughing.

"Ha! Boy, considering what happened to you, that is the least of your problems." He sobered somewhat. "But I recommend you try and replace it in the near future. Unless you become able to call on the full force of your wind elemental ancestry on your own, you wouldn't want to be caught unarmed." My head shot up and I stared at him suspiciously.

"You _do_ have some idea about what happened to me!" I accused. He shrugged.

"It isn't too hard to figure it out, this elemental you encountered, Zephyrus, did something that unlocked the dormant potential that is your birthright from your mother." He nodded excitedly, morose seriousness forgotten. I could almost see the ideas churning in his mind. "I'm guessing he released a surge of his own power into you?" I nodded and he stroked his chin in wonder. "Yes, that would do it, force your body and spirit to remember the instincts you never got to hone living among non-elementals." He started to rummage in his desk but glance up at me. "Why don't you go use what daylight is left for yourself? You've had quite day, and I'm going to work on a hypothesis or two. I'll tell you what I come up with in the morning." I nodded numbly. I was not really sure what to do so I did as he suggested and made for the door. "And Magnus?" He called after me awkwardly. I turned and glanced back. He was scratching his head sheepishly. "Try not to worry, whatever is going on, I promise to help you make sense of it." I felt relieved. Nigmog had always been a guide for me, as a teacher and a parent, with his help; I hoped that one day I might fully understand. I was grateful, but at the moment he wasn't being very helpful.

"Thanks dad," I told him and left before he could get another word in. While he worked, I was going to try and get answers on my own. I tried local blacksmiths first. None of them could identify the dirk, who made it or even what it was made of. Like my father said, it was not a normal mortal metal, neither was the pendant. There were only two places with people well traveled enough to possibly identify the weapon. One of them was the regional headquarters of Clan Venator, which simply was not going to happen. If that Bane fellow really believed I had been possessed by a demon and reported it, that would be a bad place to be. They did not have a reputation for helping poor souls in need anyway. So that left only one.

I found Karimah in Lowtown. The red haired woman had her hair tied back for the performance of her daily scam, airship parts aren't cheap after all, standing in the middle of a small cheering crowd juggling bright blue balls. She was pretty good and it seemed a decent sum of gil had accumulated in the empty mug in front of her performance. Of course, that wasn't the real source of income in this scam. A weasel darting in the crowd was not that hard to spot if one knew what to look for. It was actually quite impressive how the small animal could steal the purses right off the spectator's belts and dart away without a single one of them noticing. That could only last as long as the performance, however. Karimah finished her display with a dazzling smile and a bow to the applause of her audience. The crowd began to disperse lethargically as they all the people moved to either finish the journey home or move on to the next amusement.

The moment nobody had their attention on her, Karimah had disappeared into the crowd and Lowtown's many alleyways. It was a good thing for her, shout arose from the crowd as more and more of them discovered their purses were missing. I saw her weasel scamper around a corner and gave chase. There are some upsides to being part wind elemental that I have noticed my entire life, being fleet of foot was one of them. My con artist friend had a head start, but I caught up to her after the third sharp turn down a narrow alley.

"Great job, Pan," Karimah whistled appreciatively. She was admiring a pile of gil the weasel; she called him Pan, had no doubt brought her. The animal in question clambered up to her shoulder and squeaked contentedly. I cleared my throat loudly. The con artist started suddenly, causing Pan to squeak loudly in protest as he was nearly dislodged from his perch, and reached for a pair of kunai knives on her waist before she saw me. "Damnit lad! Don't sneak up on me like that ya? I nearly attacked you!"

"Sorry," I said with an amused smile. "Anyway, I need your help with something." She eyed me up in down suspiciously.

"Wesley told me about what happened in the desert, are you sure you should be running around Lowtown?" She raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.

"Probably not," I admitted. "But I need to get some answers." She sighed and took a seat on a nearby crate and settled a mildly curious gaze on me.

"Well than, how can I help you, lad?"

"You can tell me where these came from." I pulled out the dirk and the pendant and held both items out to her. She pursed her lips and took the dirk from me.

"I think I know what this is ya." She turned it over in her hands. "Darksteel, very rare, makes very sharp weapons… bloodthirsty even." She wrapped her hand around the hilt and eyed the blade. "They say Vampires use it, as well as some sorcerers, but the demons brought the mother load with them when they came, apparently it's very common back home." Kari quipped and wrapped a hand around the weapon's hilt, scrutinizing the blade with her gaze. "Can't tell you much more, it wasn't made by an amateur and doesn't seem to have anything to distinguish it ya." She glanced at me and shrugged apologetically. "Sorry," At least I had more than I started with. What had my mother, Aella, been doing with a weapon usually wielded by dark forces? Aella, it felt strange to suddenly have a name to put to my origins. I had spent most of my life considering my mother more of an abstract concept, a mystery that started my life, than a person. She had stumbled into Rabanastre from the west, from the direction of demon infested Rozarria, that might be important, or it might be worthless, a full wind elemental was not bound to travel as a mortal being would.

"And this one?" I held out the pendant. It was unlikely she knew anything; she had a great knowledge of weapons not trinkets. She turned the carved stone over in her hands but shook her head.

"No idea lad, sorry I couldn't be of more help." I sighed and took both items back.

"Thanks anyway. I should be getting back anyway." It was getting dark anyway. I had to get back. The red haired woman nodded curtly and snatched up her ill gotten gil.

"See you around Magnus, take care of yourself lad." She disappeared with nod down an alley with the weasel not far behind.

* * *

I wandered back towards my home in a bit of a daze. Quite a lot more than I could have possible imagined when I stormed out of the house this morning had happened. Now I had more information about my origins than I had ever had in my entire life and couldn't make sense of any of it.

"I guess I'll try and get Dad to tell me more," I muttered to myself. He had always told me talking to yourself was unhealthy but tonight I really didn't care. My house came into view and I froze in shock. The door was hanging from one hinge and the lock looked to have been broken clean off.

"Dad!" I yelled as I sprinted into the front room. The place was even messier than usual. A few of the bookshelves that had lined the walls had been toppled, ice crystals from a flung blizzard spell clung to half the room, my father's desk was overturned and there seemed to be twice as many papers strewn about, half of them torn and damaged. Something had broken in here and my father was gone. Someone had taken my father.

I heard a commotion of yelling and shouting in the streets and exited my home, not fully accepting what I had just seen. People were running by, chattering with nervous energy. I grabbed a man's arm.

"What's going?" The man stared at me as if I had just turned into a three headed Bangaa.

"Haven't you heard? They say something sneaked past the city walls and killed six guards before they left. Rumor has it they were demons; everyone's going to have a look!" He ran off hurriedly as soon as my grip slackened. I felt numb. It seemed obvious what had happened. Demons had stolen themselves into the city, kidnapped my father, gone through his things, and taken him out of the city.

And I had not even the faintest idea why all this was happening.

* * *

_Note from the Author_

_Okay, this was probably about twice as long as my normal updates will be. It took so long because of that and that I delayed writing it in the hopes that I would receive more Bios._

_On that subject!_

_Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all the Bios I have received thus far and I already have plans about where to introduce most of them into the story, but I need something else. I could really use villainous characters, or even better I'd like more characters that are a bit more "gray", meaning characters that don't really classify as something distinct on the "good" and "bad" scale._

_I'm also a bit surprised by all the humes I've received. I work up a setting with a wide variety of dark beings and so far only two have actually made a character that isn't at least part hume. That isn't a criticism, like I said I love all the Bios I've already received, I would just like future submissions to shoot for a bit more variety than that. Too many humes makes a "demon war" (as Shadow the Umbreon calls it) hard to write ;)_

_For all of you whose characters have already appeared, I hope you liked what I did, please give me feedback! Voram and Setsuna were more or less cameos but don't worry, they'll be back later._

_If you haven't, please leave a Bio! If you have, please leave a review! I thrive off feedback._


	3. Darkness Order 2: The Rat Rules his Maze

"_**All my experience and research on the subject of demons indicates that all of them follow a single hard and fast rule almost without exception. Demons follow the strongest. Put a group of demons in a desert and within a month you'll have four kings of the desert, within two months you'll have half the demons culled and a single emperor of the desert, within a year you'll have an established monarchy and tribute system so that the weak benefit the strong."**_

_**-Musings of Nigmog the Magi**_

By the time dawn had appeared over the horizon and bathed Rabanastre in a somber glow, I was thoroughly numb as far as emotions were concerned. The reality of the situation seemed distant; I had absolutely no idea how to proceed. Thus, I was thankful to have nosy friends. Wesley had come to find me shortly after I got back from visiting the broken west gate of the city, no doubt hoping to discuss it with me, then, upon finding me in a daze and my father's house wrecked, he had called in Karimah and the two had started pouring over the mess of my childhood home, looking for clues while I sulked.

"So, why would someone go after your dad?" Wesley asked. He picked a lump of rock that promptly started floating up out of his hand.

"Skystone," I said distractedly as he hastily snatched the bauble and replaced it, "I can think of reasons why thieves and mercenaries might want him, but demons have little utility for a weapon enchanter or a mage. They have their own powers in many cases greater than normal Magicks. Demonic weapon enchantment alone-"

"Ye, the old pompom gave you a few lessons that stuck, we get the picture ya." Kari was searching through one of the few upright shelves without glancing at me or Wesley's increasingly mystified expression. "But your father was also a scholar, ya? So maybe it wasn't something he could do, maybe it was something he knew." She glanced over her shoulder. "I'm guessing that dirk you showed me came from him, ya?"

"Yes," I furrowed my brow, "he said it was one of the items my birth mother had with her when she died."

"Well, I'm guessing I was right about the dirk, demon make." She stepped away from the shelf and took a seat in an armchair. "Maybe it's your mother they wanted when they got here, but they were nineteen years too late. So they took old Nigmog." Wesley jumped up, I was not sure where he got his energy after that disastrous hunt and the frantic sleepless night spent scouring my home for clues.

"Then we should be out there!" He said impatiently. "In fact, let's go right now. The demon army is across the Westersands, right?" He seized my arm and charged towards the door, dragging me stumbling after him.

"Hold up Wesley, not only would you be getting yourself killed, you would be going in the wrong direction." Kari had gotten out of the arm chair and folded her arms over her chest. Wesley stopped and I grabbed a bookcase for support to stop myself from falling. My friend stared back at Kari in puzzlement.

"Huh? Where else would they go?" Kari sighed at him.

"You guys should really try harder to stay informed. The sandstorm have gotten a lot worse since you were out there-"

"Worse?" Wesley scoffed. "It felt like someone was trying to rub my skin off with sandpaper!"

"Are you saying the Westersands are impassable?" I asked after I had steadied myself. That was good; it meant we might be able to get to my father before he was thrown into the dungeon of some Infernal Lord, or worse, a torture chamber. I tried not to think about that. Kari smiled.

"Not only that, the city guard believes the demons slipped out to the south ya. They have a big head start, but we can catch them if we go by airship." Kari looked at us expectantly; Wesley sighed.

"Fine, I'll bite. You know as well as I do that the only airship routes from Rabanastre working nowadays go east, so unless you know where we can find an airship with a captain crazy enough to risk his ship in contested airspace-"

"She has a ship," I said flatly and gave Kari a cautious look, "and I'm worried about where you're going with this."

"The broken one?" Wesley's face was screwed up in confusion

"Not for long, I only need one more part, but it's way more expensive than I can afford." Kari explained, the sly glint in her turquoise eyes belied her disappointing words.

"You're planning something I will not like, aren't you?" I heaved a sigh of resignation. Whatever it was, it could be the one way t save my father from a horrible fate. "Tell me of it." Her grin widened.

"You see, I've been planning a heist. I need to get my hands on a lot of gil very quickly ye."

"Is that different from what you normally do?" Wesley raised an eyebrow.

"A whole new level, lad, a whole new level," Kari pointed at us both, "and I could use your help."

"I fear to ask; who are we stealing from?" There were not many groups with the kind of money Kari needed that had it on hand. I was sure Kari wouldn't steal from someone who needed it.

"The Venator clan vault." She said calmly, as if it were nothing. Wesley and I stared at her wide eyed.

"Are you crazy!" Wesley's volume was near shouting. "At least if the city guard caught us we'd be arrested, Venator'll kill us!" Clan Venator was not known for its mercy to those who crossed it. For a moment I hesitate. I did not wish to get on Clan Venator's kill list, and if we were caught or even identified, I would never be able to return to Rabanastre. It was a false choice though.

"What's our plan?" I asked with solemn finality. I replaced my grief with determination as best I could. It was the only thing I could do. Wesley gaped at me incredulously but his features relaxed in understanding.

"Well," Kari seemed pleased. I felt angry for a moment, she should not have felt gleeful at a time like this, but I guessed it must feel a little surreal to her, to finally be near fixing the airship she's been working on for years. "Do you know the old waterways beneath the city? They go under every building, and the clan Venator Headquarters is built right over an old access point. We should come up right near the vault."

"Sounds easy," Wesley was suspicious. "I don't like it."

"Why haven't you done this yourself?" I asked my friend's unasked question. For the first time, Karimah's enthusiasm waned and she sighed.

"**Well, that's the catch isn't it ya? I take it neither of you have been in the sewers very much lately?" Wesley and I glanced at each other.**

"Well, not since the octopus incident." Wesley admitted, "That was about two weeks ago."

"Octopus incident?" Karimah said in confusion.

"You don't want to know." Wesley and I said simultaneously. I continued.

"Just know that there is no giant octopus to worry about in the sewers anymore, it's a long story." She stared at us both for a moment.

"Ooookay then, the point is that this sandstorm out in the desert has been driving vermin down into the waterways ya. By vermin, I mean lesser demons. Old assaults on the city left the dregs of the demon armies behind, small weak demons. They've been scrounging an existence outside the city limits for some time now. They must have found a way down into the waterways after the storm started up, because they're filling up with the little blighters as we speak ya. The city guard keeps it quiet but they consider it a nuisance, and they're still trying to convince clan Venator to do a sweep." At least she didn't hold anything back. Wesley laughed out loud and clapped me over the shoulder.

"You got nothing to worry about! You should have seen the beating this guy dealt to that demon yesterday!"

"Don't expect a repeat performance," I warned him, "I still don't even remember doing that." He shrugged noncommittally and smiled at Karimah with his typical grin. "So, when do we go?" She glanced at her time piece.

"Give me an hour to get ready, then we'll meet in Lowtown, right outside the sewer entrance."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wesley's POV

The sewers are a bit darker than I remember. I guessed demons have that effect on a place, I wondered if they had night vision. The walls were a lot grimier and the water itself seemed extra dark and sludgy. We had gotten down here and decided to follow Kari's lead to the exit. Not that we had much choice, she was the only one who knew the way, or at least memorized it on a map. So Mag and I were following her across one of the walkways. Kari walked as far from either edge as possible. I remembered that she wasn't really a huge fan of deep water, not that anyone would be a fan of the churning brackish stuff down there. I heard the city guard had been using white magick to purify the water supply but I didn't realize it had gotten that bad. The smell wasn't exactly perfume either.

"So… how long a walk do we have here?" I shouted loudly over the sound of the flowing water. Kari glanced over her shoulder at me.

"We should be almost there now. Just keep an eye out ya!" She turned and started her brisk walk again; she didn't like this place anymore than I did, probably worse. Mag didn't seem too upset though, which was little weird considering he hates being underground. I guessed he had a lot on his mind. I glanced at him when he wasn't looking. He seemed very distracted. He had that black long dagger thing hanging from his belt. It was the only weapon he had now. He stiffened suddenly.

"What's wrong Mag?" I looked around myself but didn't see anything.

"Do you hear that?" He pulled his long dagger out and slid his feet apart in a combat posture with the dagger held in a reversed grip. Now that I was listening, I heard something. There was scuffing and skittering just within hearing. Then it was everywhere, echoing off the walls and joined by screeches. Kari cursed and snatched her kunai from a belt around her waist. A pulled my short swords out. Now that I looked at them, I realized altogether we didn't really have a whole lot of reach. We had a pair of knives, a pair of short swords and a long dagger thing. Gods help us if any of things had so much as a short bow. Maybe Magnus could pull another wind blade out of nowhere.

"Above!" Mag hissed. I looked up in time to see a trio of imps, dog sized humanoid demons with black scaly skin, glowing red eyes, and razor sharp teeth and claws, falling towards us from the ceiling. I took down the first one with a well timed swipe, splattering dark red blood on myself. Things really deteriorated from there. Imps and other small demons started swarming into the area and straight at us.

I was happy to see my skill with the short swords was improving. I took the head off one of the imps and spun to cut some kind of hellhound in half with the second blade. Kari was doing pretty well. She didn't have much range with those knives but she was stabbing and slicing anything that tried to get too close.

"Looking good Kari!" I gave her thumbs up and she flashed a smile my way. Then it died on her lips as she gawked at something over my shoulder. I turned to look and my jaw fell faster than a sprinting chocobo. Mag was like a spinning maelstrom of destruction. Bursts of wind spells tore apart the imps around him and anything that got closer tasted a dagger blade for their trouble. He was twisting and spinning around to take on challengers from all sides, and he was tearing them apart. Not that impressive with dirt low class demons like that, but it was still… wow.

"Damn, Mag." I whistled, "When did you learn how to do that?" He took out sent a miniature gale force wind at the last imp. It was pick up off its feet and spent whirling into the channel, bouncing off the walls with a series of high pitch screeches before collapsing into the filthy water like a broken marionette.

"I think," Mag gulped for breadth, "that thing that happened, huh, in the desert, huh, had a few aftereffects." He was panting but he looked more energized than I had seen him since we'd gotten out of the desert. His eyes widened, "Wes, look out!" I turned and a dark blur rammed me in the chest like an attack dog. By the burning smell, I judged that I wasn't far off, a hell hound. Unfortunately, I had been standing at the edge of the walkway.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" I tumbled down into the waters, hell hound snapping at my neck. I wrenched one of my blades into its ribs and let the limp body drift away. I burst through the surface with a gasp. Mag and Kari were already far away, shouting after me. I opened my mouth and yelled, inviting more bitter water into my mouth, but the rushing water had turned a bend and they were gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Magnus' POV

"Wes!" I shouted down the canal my friend had just disappeared down. There was nothing for it. I braced myself and prepared to leap into the water, but Kari grabbed my arm. I glared at her. "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" She asked me incredulously. "Do you really think that would help? These waterways branch all over. You won't find him."

"I can't just leave him!" I stood and stared at her in challenge. Did she really think I was going to let my oldest friend on his own in this demon infested place? Her expression softened.

"Look, I don't like it either, but this place has plenty of entrances and Wesley can handle himself. He has a much better chance of helping himself out of this situation than we have of even finding him. We need to keep going if we want the best chance to save your father, lad." She bit her lip, I realized it pained her to use that against me but as much as I wanted to be angry at her, she was not wrong. I gritted my teeth and straightened.

"Tell me we're almost there." She looked relieved despite my stony expression.

"Almost, just follow me." We set off at a jog, faster than before. We had to fend off a few more groups of demons but they posed no problems. I did not truly understand what Zephyrus had done to me, but I was moving faster, fighting more fluidly and my wind spells had considerably greater power than before. It felt as if some part of a dam had been breached, and a leak was providing power where there had been almost none before. That, of course, begged the question.

"What happens when the whole dam comes down?" I murmured to myself.

"We're here!" Karimah was standing at the foot of a ladder. "This should bring us up into a storeroom, from there the Clan Vault is just two halls away.

"Then let us be done with this as fast as we can." I sighed heavily. I hoped my need to save my father wouldn't cost Wesley his life.

Wesley's POV

The first thing I noticed was how cold and wet I was. My clothes were completely soaked through and there wasn't an inch of me that didn't feel cold and clammy. Then I realized I wasn't actually in the water any longer, which was a plus. I blinked hard and sat up. I was on a walkway about an inch away from being submerged. It probably was a minute ago, that would explain why it was so wet and how I got out. I inhaled and immediately gagged. The smell of sulfur was disgustingly palpable.

_Arise…_

I shot up to my feet and drew both my swords. Strange, I could have sworn I had lost one in the water.

_Welcome… Brother…_

The voice was raspy and dry. It sounded like it came from everywhere at once.

"Who are you!" I shouted. There had been more than enough demons in my last few days for my taste already. At this point, I just wished I carried flasks of holy water on me.

_I am kin… But let us speak face to face…_

I heard a rustling noise behind me and whirled around me to see an amorphous mass of shadow. It stretched and twisted, branched and curled until it resembled the vague silhouette of a man.

_It has been a long time… since I enjoyed the company of demon greater than imp… Even if only half blood…_

The demon's form shifted and it drifted closer. I edge closer to the water apprehensibly

_Desriesh is my name… I rule these lesser creatures because I am greater but we possess a common bond… No demon cares for the vermin of demonkind… So when I sensed yourself, I began to wonder…_

"Okay, a little freaked out here now. Could you just tell me why you fished me out of there? Your buddies back there seemed pretty interested in ripping my throat out." I would have edged further away but I was too close to the water. The being was silent for a moment.

_When I sensed you I sent the vermin to test… I worried that my senses fooled me… but you are indeed of greater stock than myself… you have skill… but much of your strength is yet dormant… Your father must have been at least a dark knight of an Infernal Lord for you to have such residual strength… for a halfbreed…_

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm human!" He sounded like that demon girl from the desert! A raspy laugh echoed through the chamber.

_You do not know your own heritage… Even a demon low as myself can see it plain as day… You must have been raised a human… amongst humans… I had hoped you where here to obtain my assistance… in an invasion of the city… but instead you are only another witness… that I must silence…_

The dark shape suddenly expanded and took another humanoid form, this one twice as tall as a bangaa with six arms ending in scythe like arms.

_Die…_

"Oh damn." I paled and considered throwing myself into the water, but I figured that if this thing could fish me out once, it could do it again. So I raised my swords and prayed to whatever divine being helped my deflect the demon girl's bullets earlier. It raised its blades and brought them down to strike. I deflected the first, the second went wide, I dodged the third, the fourth I batted aside with my other blade, the fifth I sidestepped, and maybe I could do this after al-

"Ah!" I screamed as the sixth blade shoved through my stomach. The voice assumed a sneering tone.

_I may not be great among demons…. But an untrained half blood whelp like you is nothing at all…_

I didn't hear it. The pain had faded but a whole new ringing was going through my ears. This was more of a rumble, and it came from within me. A torrent of rage ripped through every cell of my body and pulsed through the air. The demon went flying back into the wall and its form fell out of focus. I stood, reborn. My eyes blazed with red light and a crimson haze of raw energy hovered around my body.

"Did you say 'whelp'? You shouldn't have done that, now I'm going to kill you slowly." A bloodthirsty grin split my face. This weakling was going to pay. The weakling hissed and it's form became humanoid again, this time human sized with a pair of scythes for hands.

_I will tear you to pieces… whelp…_

"I told you about calling me that." I said in a singsong voice and launched myself like a bullet. It snarled and grew another pair of arms, these ended with claws. It blocked the first strike and took a swipe at me. I grabbed its wrist and threw it over my head, across the room, and into a wall, making a crater. It flew out of the crater as a thrashing mass of sharpened limbs. I crossed my blades and they ignited in red and black flames.

I unleashed the inferno with a crazy smirk and the weakling smashed into a wall of hellfire. It wailed and rolled on the ground, form shifting and writhing. It was like the stupid thing doesn't realize hellfire sticks, no matter what. It was funny!

"How do you like 'whelp' now?" I jeered. It moaned and screeched. That was annoying after awhile. I reached down and grabbed a piece of the demon. The part in my hand morphed into a babbling mouth.

_I was mistaken… please…you are powerful… please… I pledge myself to your service… please… the pain…_

It was whimpering, how pathetic. Oh well, I was sure I had other stuff to do anyway. I raised a hand above my head and conjured an orb of black and red fire. Then I had an idea.

"Pledge yourself to my service, you say? I have a place for you." The hellfire warped in my hand and curled around my fingers like a flaming claw. I stabbed down. The demon howled as I lifted it up as a limp feeble shadow mass. "Just to warn you, I've never tried this before!" I held out my free hand and a portal of whirling energy cracked open before me in the air. "So, you may experience turbulence, or just get ripped to pieces, but hey, no skin off my bones." I tossed the weakling like a softball right into the rift. It gave one last pathetic shriek before disappearing into the abyss. That was that! I remembered having something important to do. I was sure I'd remember what it was when I got there. So I took off at a run down the tunnels. I knew could find the way, after all, I figured I'd just smash down the walls in my way!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Note from the Author_

_I am so sorry for the delay. I've had a very hectic time in my real llife and suffered a bit of writer's block. Originally, the chapter was supposed to end with an account of the infiltration of Clan Venator's base from Karimah's point of view and Cain Beowulf was to make an appearance but I couldn't quite work the scenes out to my satisfaction._

_Once again, I encourage all tose who have yet to do so to submit a character and if you have already, leave a review._


	4. Darkness Order 3: Honest Thievery

"_**Some philosophies talk about traits that are dormant. Things that exist in an individual but are not active. I believe this applies to hybrids such as Magnus. He demonstrates small abnormalities like speed and little gusts, but I believe this is only a whisper of a greater power. I believe this truth may be universal to hybrids. This power must be awakened by some sort of trigger. What that trigger may be, I can only speculate, but once it appears the floodgates are open."**_

_**-Musings of Nigmog the Magi**_

* * *

**Karimah's POV**

I don't like letting Wes go more than Magnus does but what I said was the cold necessary truth. Maybe I should tell fewer of those. It wouldn't do to build a reputation of cold heartedness. The old sewer exit was easy enough to find and easy enough to open. Mag was silent the whole way. I think he was brooding, not a healthy thing to spend his time on, so I teased him a bit to distract him. It didn't seem to do much good.

"Is this it? Venator's fortress?" He was sullen as ever.

"Well, I'd call it more of a dressed up mansion with well armed guards, lad, but this is it ya." The passage opened us out into a side hallway, a dead end. If all that time I spent away from my airship to study the map was worth anything, we were only down the hall from the vault. "Stay behind me, lad, I know the way." He must have been more upset than I thought; he started following me meek as a mouse. He didn't even put up a pretense of an argument over who should go first. Granted, I suppose he usually let's Wes do the arguing so he can keep looking stoic and impressive.

"-the Hunters of Clan Venator are at the sssservice of hisss grace, the Emperor of Archadia, my lord Judge." A Bangaa's voice thoughtfully prevented me from going on another worrying tangent about Wes. I held a hand behind me and stopped.

"Why did you stop?" Mag asked, he must have had his head really in the clouds if he hadn't heard that. The voice had come from the corridor in front of us. There were footsteps now, three pairs, best I could tell. One could have been a hume in some kind of boots and there was definitely the slapping of Bangaa feet but both were hard to hear over the clattering of plate armor. I wasn't sure which I least wanted angry at me, the hunters or a judge from back in Archades. I had a few seconds to get us hidden. There were a few archaic suits of armor standing around the walls, rich decorations and a nice hiding spot for the likes of me. I slipped behind it. Dalmascan armor had never been very big or ungainly, but it would work.

"Ahem," Oh yes, I had to hide Mag too. He had an eyebrow raised and his arms crossed over his chest. At least he isn't that distracted. He was too large for the suits of armor to hide him completely, luckily there was an alternative. I pointed to a door we had just passed. If it was unlocked we would be saved. If it wasn't, well I could use a good sprint. He tried the door and it opened. Immediately, canine growls erupted from the opening. Mag stared into the room with his face cast into incredulous dismay. "You must be kidding me," he hissed through his teeth. I gestured urgently for him to get in. The footsteps would be hearing the growls in a few seconds, provided none of them were Viera, they would have heard it already then. He sucked in a breath through his teeth before he stepped in and closed the door. The noise cut off abruptly, must have been a soundproof door.

"I heard growling," That voice was hume and possessed an unmistakably Archadian accent. The Judge's voice pulled at some thread in my memory but it was faint, just the barest familiarity. I wondered if I could have met him in Archades once.

"That may have been our hounds, we keep them to hunt." That voice I knew, I'd heard it not a day earlier, Voram Bane. "Someone was probably feeding them."

"I'm ssure the Judge Magister has little interest in our dogsss." The Bangaa said distractedly. "Will you be our guest much longer, Judge Balfour?" Now they stepped into view. Voram was unchanged from the last time I saw him, though I guess that means he must have changed into a pair of new clothes since he was frolicking in the desert. A tall blue Bangaa was with him, dressed in little but a metal breastplate and a pair of trousers. He didn't even have shoes. I'd heard of this one, he was Oriss, the High Hunter of Venator, the man in charge. Rumor mill spoke of his deceptive polite manner, cruel nature, and ferocious hand to hand skills.

"I will depart soon," By his tone, the Judge didn't want to be here any longer than he had to.

"I'm curious," Oriss scratched the underside of his chin, "Why did you come to us instead of the king to speak on the defense of Dalmasca?" His crocodile smile made it clear he knew very well. The Judge thought so too.

"Do not dance around it; you are the only real defense Dalmasca has. The Royal Army has been whittled down to nothing, barely enough to patrol the streets. The King pays Venator to defend it from demons because he can't himself." He definitely didn't sound like he enjoyed the situation, but Oriss' grin only widened.

"And you're here to make sure we have everything we need to do it."

"True enough, the Emperor, and most of Archades along with him, views Dalmasca as another line of defense against the Infernal Lords between them and the empire, but it is a line that must hold." They had passed and the voices were getting fainter.

"You have my assurancesss of our success, perhaps I can convince you to stay for…" They were gone.

"Okay, Mag, you can come out now lad." I called. There was no answer and I kicked myself. He was behind the soundproof door. I hurried over to the door and grabbed the handle.

"Hurry up Mag we don't have much ti-" I stopped for a moment to pick my jaw off the floor. It turns out Venator's 'hounds' are actually wolves about half the size of a chocobo. Though that wasn't as interesting as what Magnus was doing to them.

"Damn dogs!" He shouted loudly as he performed a spinning kick and sent a gale of wind careening into the wall, carrying one of the yelping canines with it. Another sprung at him from the corner, fangs bared. He spun with his arm held up as if were holding a javelin. "Gale Spear!" Mag shouted and a fierce whirlwind focused into a single unstable shaft in his hand. The next second, the dog was flying across the room with a gaping hole straight through its chest cavity spewing blood everywhere. The last dog whimpered in its corner.

"Mag…" I whistled. "You have to tell me where you picked up these tricks." He whirled around with a look of shock on his face… his bloodstained face. He must have not heard the door open.

"Kari! I…" His features were a picture of uncertainty. He raised his red hands and stared at them blankly. "I don't know… how I… It just happens." He shook his head and gave me a helpless look that nearly broke my heart. "I can't control it, not really… I feel like something awoke inside me, something that understands me better than I do. But it's elusive. I only get more and more questions." He walked over to a nearby wall and leaned against it, taking a breath. "It frightens me, like I'm turning into something… different. But I don't know what except that it's a different me than I've always been." I hesitated a moment. I had never been very good at this sort of thing but he really needs it. He's on the verge of a breakdown between whatever this is and his father's kidnapping. I walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Lad… Mag… no matter what crazy powers you start to pull out of the air, I'm still going to be here. Wesley's still going to be there ya" As soon as we find him anyway. "Do you know why?" He gave me a look that was just as pained as before but with a note of incredulity. It looked like he was going to force me to say it. Too bad, I hate sounding this corny even if it is the truth. "We're your friends, which means we stick with you through thick and thin. It means that we aren't just here to party in the good times and leave in the bad times, lad. We're here to help. Will you let us?" He stared at me, astonished. I belatedly realized that his face had been drifting closer to mine during my whole speech. As soon as he realized what he was doing he dropped his eyes to the ground.

"I don't think you can." He said solemnly. I sighed heavily and stepped away.

"Then just come with me to the vault, I can at least help with the old moogle." I turned to the door. Normally Wesley is the stubborn one but now Mag was giving him a run for his money.

"Kari…" He spoke up uncertainly but I stopped and cocked my head. "Thank you, if I need someone to talk to…" Maybe he wasn't so stubborn. I turned around and flashed him a bright smile.

"I'll listen, now, that's all very sweet lad, but we should really be getting to the vault before clanners find us and rip us to ribbons ya." He smiled a little himself.

"Well, they'll have to find new dogs to feed us to." Aw, he was developing a sense of humor, how cute. The vault was only two corridors away. It looked like most of the clan must have been asleep. They didn't even post a guard outside the door. After all, who would be daring enough to break through their impenetrable defenses and steal from the mighty clan Venator? That would be me. The lock was nothing to fancy, nothing a good lockpick and a skilled hand to use it couldn't handle.

"Stand back here, this is my area." I announced and held up my hand to signal Mag. He raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you could pick locks." Well, there were a lot of things that might fit into the category of things he didn't know about me, like how I'm Archadian.

"A girl learns all sorts of things as a street performer. Now hush lad, I'm trying to work ya." He said nothing, just leaned against the wall and kept watch on the hallway.

* * *

**Wesley's POV**

"Wretch!" I crushed the head of a spineless imp beneath my boot with a laugh. I held up his spine above my head. "You weren't doing much with it and I thought I'd find a better use for it!" I ran a finger along the length of the bloody bone and it became rigid and straight as an arrow. A cluster of shadows crawled along its surface. I grinned like a sadist; I guess I might be one. The scrawny imps and hounds around me backed away slowly. Well, that wasn't fun. I pulled my arm back and flung the spine like a throwing spear. It hit an imp straight in the eye. They next second a blaze of hellfire burst from inside its skull like a grenade, sending imps and wretches off skittering. "Bullseye!" I cackled.

"Run!" The one of the demon's screeched in its own tongue. None of them needed telling. The entire gang had started to break up, scaling the walls and ceiling, hopping into the waterway, and running down the various passages.

"Hey, I wasn't done playing with all you yet!" I hollered after them but I was starting to feel bored with such weaklings anyway. I sighed disappointedly. I knew I was supposed to be somewhere and I was pretty sure it was above ground. So far I hadn't found a single entrance. Smashing walls hasn't really helped me since I don't recognize anything. This was so frustrating! I glanced up at the ceiling. There was an imp staring straight down at me like some punk. I drew one of my swords and sneered. "Get down here you!" I swung and an arc of fire blasted the imp out of existence, sending a rain of charred imp flesh and rocks down my way… a rain of rocks. I am a GENIUS! I braced myself for a leap and drew both my swords. "See you in hell, bitches!" I took a wild leap straight up in the air and swung both flame covered swords in front of me. There was an explosion, a lot of heat and small rocks hit me but in the next second I was staring into the night sky.

"Intruder! Call Oriss! Intruder in the courtyard!" And it was a courtyard, what was left of one anyway. If they think they could charge me for the damages they had another thing coming! It was only a little corner of it anyhow. I stretched out my arms and grinned into the sky. It was good to have some air that didn't smell like human excrement.

"Well well well, are you part of an advance force, devil? I wasn't expecting any so soon." There was a blue Bangaa standing on a balcony overlooking the yard. An armored man in a wolf helmet stood next to him with a sword on his back stood at his right and an arrogant jerk named something or other Bane at his left.

"Hey lizard, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find clan Venator around here would you?" That was where I was going! I had remembered it just now, nice and timely. I hoped I'd remember why I wanted to be here. Pain exploded from my jaw and my world went fuzzy. I dimly noticed my feet had left the ground and painfully noticed my head smacking into hard stone. The stone gave way first. I blinked up at the sky from my crumpled heap and sat up. I had been sent flying across the whole courtyard! That stupid overgrown lizard was standing where I was a second ago, how the hell did he do that?

"I try thisss again." Mr. Blue Lizard grinned like a psycho. "I am Oriss, leader of Clan Venator, and I'm going to kill you, demon, for breaking into my compound." He spread his legs apart and pointed a clenched fist at me. Man, that just got my blood pumping! I jumped to my feet with one smooth movement and brandished my swords in front of him, matching psycho grin to psycho grin.

"A lot of talk lizard, try this!" I sent two waves of darkness and fire his way with a twin swipe. He just sneered and his hand opened into an open palm.

"Shell," he rasped and a pale curtain of power formed in front of him. The fires wrapped around the barrier, making an orb of red fire and swirling darkness around him, not touching him damnit! "Blizzaga!" I heard him shout and suddenly a gap opened in the fires. The fire melted away and a shard of ice the size of a man's torso shot out at me like a bullet. I did a spinning strike, slicing it to pieces with a blow from my sword. He was pretty powerful to be pouring this kind of juice into his Magicks. I guess I should be impressed but I'm just annoyed.

"You really don't have much experiensss do you?" Oriss laughed throatily. I tightened my grip on my blades and swung again with a howl. More red flames and shadows shot across the ground towards him and... he wasn't there.

"Huh? Where'd he-" And his heel slammed into the top of my head. I suddenly became better acquainted with the ground. It was covered with sticky hot red stuff, which would explain the agonizing pain throbbing on the crown of my head. This bastard was winning! I lashed out blindly in frustration. He grunted and backed off. I had landed a hit! It was a shallow gash but still.

"That's just the first cut, you smug son of a bitch, I'm gonna tear you to pieces!" I grinned. I noticed my head had stopped bleeding already. Awesome, now I don't have to worry about getting blood in my eyes. The stupid reptile grimaced and cracked his knuckles.

"I might have to get a little more seriousss with you. I do have other plans this evening."

"Bring it, lizard!"

* * *

**Magnus' POV**

"Okay, lad. This is all we need. Hah! We're going to be rich ya!" Karimah had been outright giddy ever since she'd gotten the vault open. Inside there were huge piles of bags and chests as well as weapons and papers, anything the guild could want to keep secure. My redheaded friend enlisted me in lugging out all the bags of Gil from the most recent addition to the vault. We were not really equipped to be dragging massive bags of Gil around the sewers on the way back, but we stuffed our pockets and each slung one of the sacks over our shoulder. Kari assured me we'd have enough and plenty to spare, but my mind kept drifting to my father and Wesley. That was when the alarm sounded.

"Have they figured out we're here?" I asked, staring out the open vault door. I could hear running and shouting and crashes... better than I should have been able to normally.

"How should I know? Let's just high tail it out of here before they can murder us in some horrible way, ya?" She gave a nervous laugh and started walking away quickly; the weight of the bag on her shoulder had her hunched over. I closed my eyes and listened. The indecipherable shouts were resolving into words even though they were getting no closer... I felt light headed.

"They aren't after us... there's a battle in the courtyard... and..."

"How can you hear that?" Karimah frowned. "I only hear loud noises."

"I don't-" I cut off and opened my eyes wide as one last voice filtered through to me. "It's Wesley, he's here!" I gasped, shocked. "We have to help him!" Karimah just continued to stare in bewilderment.

"How?" She managed. I sighed exasperatedly; I wouldn't get much help from her right now. I dropped the Gil and made for Wesley's voice as fast as I was able. She shouted after me, still confused, but I did not have the time to think about her. The guards had all deserted the halls and assembled in the balconies around the courtyard, looking on as a series of shouts and explosions played out below. Thankfully, the area I emerged into was fairly free of the guards and the explosions, so there was nobody to take advantage of my slack-jawed surprise. There was a muscular Bangaa throwing around spells and punches, but the person he was fighting was Wesley... or not. Not Wesley looked like my friend but he was covered in a dark reddish aura. His eyes showed the true difference. Wesley's blue eyes were usually filled with curiosity and goodhearted mischief. These deep crimson orbs were filled with berserk bloodlust, even a perverse sadistic glee.

"Wesley..." I muttered uncertainly. He was throwing red fires and waves of shadow at the Bangaa, but he was clearly losing. For every dodged slash, the Bangaa would land a punch or a kick that sent him staggering. For every burst of flame, he was burned or frozen or even electrified. Even so, he was only now starting to slow, an unwavering grimace of bloody determination on his face. He charged at the blue Bangaa once more with his swords raised to strike. The Bangaa sidestepped him and plunged an iron fist into the side of Wesley's head. "Wesley!" This time I shouted. He staggered away from the blow and blinked up at me blearily.

"Who… Mag?" He seemed confused, heedless of the quickly slowing red trickle on the side of his face. The malicious aura around him seemed to drain away. Red turned to blue. "Mag… what the hell just happened. I put my foot on the balcony's banister and leapt. The air itself seemed to slow my fall and I landed easily despite the ten foot drop. It must have been noticeable because the Bangaa's eyes widened. Poor Wesley was too confused to notice. I glanced at the Bangaa. He had backed off a few feet. He seemed amused… and curious. I went straight up to Wes and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Wesley, are you alright? Can you hear me?" He seemed to gain some focus and looked me in the eye.

"Yeah, I hear you… I think I'm okay…"

"What happened to you? How did you get here?" That was the real question. What was that other Wesley I saw and how did he get out of the sewers? The Wesley Kendrick I knew was a half descent swordsman but he couldn't blow a hole out of the sewers like the missing part of the courtyard I was viewing.

"I don't know...I was fighting this demon thing and it stabbed me. That hurt and then... I was angry and then I was sort of scary happy, then I got angry again and you showed up... It's all really blurry." He rubbed his head. "I'm hungry." I should have felt relieved at his safety but I felt more frustrated by his lack of answers than anything else.

"It's a pity to interrupt this amusssing conversation, but you are trespassing on clan Venator's territory. The penalty is death, I'm afraid." The Bangaa spoke with far too much glee for my taste. I drew my dirk and turned to face the blue Bangaa in a combat stance. Wesley, though he looked unsteady on his feet, seemed to take the hint and put up his own swords. The Bangaa only chuckled. "A demon boy who ran out of sssteam and a wind elemental. I thought the elementalsss were against demonkind. Has that changed? Or are you just a little whelp out on his own?" I didn't answer but he didn't seem to need one. He burst out laughing after a few seconds. "A hybrid then! You're an outcast among even them I suppose. Then I guess I don't have to worry about insulting them when I kill you..." He moved. I reacted. Wes cried out as I shoved him away and ducked to avoid the first punch. My dirk was suddenly slashing upwards, meaning to pierce him beneath the arm and into his heart. It all became a painful white blur as a blue fist bashed the side of my head in a savage back hand. There was a small but sickening crack when my head hit the ground two meters away from where he hit me. On some level, I realized that moving around with a head injury might not be the best course. On a far more immediate level, I knew that sitting still in front of a Bangaa intent on ending my life with his fists was probably worse.

"Wes… run." I spoke with difficult and got to my feet. My stubborn best friend shook his head and took his ready stance again. His arms were sagging from fatigue but he stood steadier than before.

"No way, Mag, I'm not going to leave ya to this bastard lizard. We'll take him down!" A shadow of his excited grin grew along with my frustration. He was having trouble holding his arms up. I was having trouble standing. It would be a miracle if he got away even if he did run and I tried to buy him time.

"Just run, you idiot!" I shouted. Then I could feel the same surge of that euphoric sensation that I had felt in the sewers when we were fighting the demons, lightness in my chest and an electric feeling in my limbs. The wet feeling where my head had struck the ground felt distant but the Bangaa came into sharp focus and I became aware of a thrumming power seemingly just beneath my skin. I had not felt this good, or this overwhelmed, in my entire life. I sprung, quick as the wind, quick as Oriss. He defended himself by striking my wrist and deflecting the slash but stumbled back, to his own shock, if his face was any indicator. He narrowed his eyes. He launched into a flurry of blows that I answered in turn. I would go at him with the dirk, but he would move aside or deflect the blow just barely. I was not so lucky. I would turn and dodge some of his punches and kicks but some found their mark.

"Boy, I don't know what you are, but you're out of your league, Firaga!" Oriss moved. A fire gathered in his fist, drawn back for release. The euphoric sensation strengthened, I moved on instinct.

"Gust Shield!" I struck my hand upwards. A whirlwind rose around me. Oriss' conflagration parted on contact. The fired flowed around me chaotically. I felt the heat even then. My eyes watered, my skin started to blister. I felt myself waning. That euphoria was slipping away, the barrier of rushing air failing. Then the flames ceased. I gasped and took a step back to balance myself, panting heavily. I heard the sound of boots landing. Voram Bane had come to reinforce his superior with battle axe in hand.

"Easy Mag…" A steadying hand grasped my shoulder.

"Wesley," I croaked "I told you to run." His dirty bloodied face screwed up in stubbornness.

"Not a chance! I'm not about to let my best friend get turned into paste!" I smiled faintly. It's amazing how one can keep underestimating his own friends… I glanced ahead. Oriss and Voram weren't moving to attack, yet. The wolf helmeted Judge had not moved an inch. The Bangaa jerked his head towards us sharply. Bane moved forward with his axe raised and a spell at his lips. Oriss followed suit.

An explosion ripped through the side of the courtyard. The charging hunters stopped dead in their tracks. I would have lost what balance I had if Wesley had not been holding my shoulder.

"Don't wait for an invitation, lads. Just move!" Kari had returned after all. I slowed my breathing and wiped away the shock. I grabbed Wesley's wrist and ran. That too good feeling wormed its way inside me again. I'm not sure how fast I was going, but I was dragging Wesley in the street before I had time to think. Karimah was shouting at us all the while and we lost ourselves in the city's narrow alleys and side streets.

* * *

**Karimah's POV**

"Will this be enough?" I grinned widely at the tiny moogle's wide eyes. She was staggering under the weight of a massive bag of Gil.

"Y-yes that's enough, Kari. How did you get this much!" This was fun.

"My secret, ya." I gave a conspiratorial wink. "Deliver those parts to my hangar. I'll want to get my ship in the air yesterday, ya!"

"O-okay Kari, I'll tell the boss…" The moogle tottered off under the Gil. No more petty crime for me! Sky, here I come. I set off with a spring in my step into the morning sunlight. A few side streets and double backing to throw off pursuit later and I shared the good news. Mag and Wes were hiding out in an abandoned warehouse in Lowtown. Clan Venator had been looking high and low for them since last night like a swarm of sharks. Meaning it was a very good time to get out of Rabanastre.

"Maggie, I'm home!" My friends poked their heads out from behind a few crates in the darkened warehouse. Mag scowled, he probably didn't realize how cute it made him look. "We're in business, lads! I can get the parts installed within a few hours. Then we can get after the old moogle."

"Well aren't you glowing." Mag noted sardonically. Both of them looked a little worse for wear. Oh right, the whole not-fully-human thing must be bothering them… Still, I have an airship, a working one! Maybe that will distract them…

"Well what are you waiting for? Get fixing!" The blonde lad was grinning. Well at least Wes was excited. He seemed giddy over the idea of flying. Maybe we can distract Magnus from his brooding. I gave them my best heart melting smile.

"Just give me a few hours and we'll be soaring over the Giza Plains in no time, ya!"

* * *

**?'s POV**

They tried to disguise themselves, but they still matched the physical descriptions to the practiced eye. A red haired hume girl was leading them into one of the hangars, two teenage humes. Clan Venator wanted them for thievery and trespassing. Things they would certainly be killed for. They probably didn't deserve that harsh a punishment, but Gil was Gil. One has to support themselves and their family and not just with Gil...

"You there!" I jerked my purple head around to stare at the white haired human. I had thought that only the older humes had that coloration, but they are a strange people. "You called in the sighting?"

"Yesss…" I fixed him with a stare. "I saw them. Two hume boys."

"Tell me where they went and the reward is yours." Very businesslike, this hume.

"I want more than that." I growled "I want a commission."

"What?" His eyebrow raised and he scoffed. "If you wish to join the clan, there are better ways."

"No, I don't want a membership. I want a job. I am an assassin and hunter by trade." I grimaced at him. "I have skills." He stopped and thought it over for a moment.

"She may come." A new steady voice. I turned and came snout to helm with a metal wolf head. A hume armored in the unmistakable style of Archadian Judges was staring straight at me. I edged back in surprise. What could a Judge be doing here?

"I am Judge Magister Balfour; the criminals have stolen a payment by the Archadian Empire intended for Clan Venator. I will see them brought to justice for this." His tone was calm and rigid as iron but his body seemed coiled, ready to strike. I did not expect this. The hunter shrugged.

"Very well, you have your commission. Who are you and where are they?"

"I am Serak." I stood tall. "They boarded a private airship and headed towards the Giza plains."

* * *

_Note from the Author_

_Well, I have not given up on this story yet. I had been away from this site for a while. I have returned and I hope you all are not forced to suffer a similar delay in the future. I'm still ironing out which parts of the plot I want to put in the next chapter, but please leave a review._

_I encourage anyone who has yet to submit a BIO to do so. I am still accepting them and will until further notice._


	5. Darkness Order 4: The Hunter is Prey

"**I am not the only being who knows of Magnus and his heritage. There is much I have not told him, and much I never will. I swore to his mother I would keep her child safe and he is my son, in spirit if not blood. I fear that this may be beyond me. If what she told me is true, he may never be safe anywhere."**

**- Musings of Nigmog the Magi**

* * *

**General POV**

Pale blue eyes stared into the wastes of the Westersands. The storm howled on yet, but it was weakening. Even one of the four winds could only hold out for so long against the powers crossing the sands. Pale blue eyes stood, brilliantly set against his black stone throne in his white attire, a robe covered with sigils as jet black as his long hair and malevolent as his origins. His handsome porcelain features formed a smile with pointed teeth.

"You see, my friends, you needn't fear weather. It is only a delay. For many years we have awaited this conquest. What is a handful of days more?" Three figures appeared from the shadows behind him. One stood forth, a bare-chested being with similar long raven hair to the first. His red eyes glowed dangerously, yet somehow they seemed subdued when they fell upon the white clad man.

"I only wonder why it has taken so long for us to make our move, Lord Azazel." Crimson eyes narrowed. "We have spent a decade in complacence. We could have moved sooner." A patronizing smile flitted across the pale eyed demon's face.

"My dear Lord Onikage, I have had things to do: enemies to root out, a rule to solidify, an army to gather. Be glad you follow me, for now we stand to be the first to plunder the East and make claim."

"You were done with such things years ago. You have waited without purpose for years now. That damned city could have been ours before now!" A new voice snarled. Eyes of a deeper crimson glared from a pale face beneath black-blue hair. His scowl, prominent fangs and broken nose only made his features seem more grotesque. His lack of humanity was made even more obvious by a long black tail and pointed ears. His black garbed form was set in a stance of defiance. Lord Azazel was in front of him faster than thought. He cast a look of mock pity from his too immaculate features.

"So bold even now! Truly you are a prize Adrian! Why so eager to move on? Have the Armash Assassin's become too much for you to manage?"

"No," The lesser devil hissed. "They are flies, barely worth swatting!" His scowl deepened as Azazel laughed.

"Tell that to your nose, Adrian." His laughter was light and pleasant. He reached and took a hold of Adrian's shoulder casually. The fanged devil drew a breath sharply as bones cracked. The look of bemused mockery never left Azazel's face. "Be sure to hold your impatience in check, lest you find yourself returned to the pit before our hour comes. Perhaps I would have a chance of recruiting the remaining Armash then, hm?" Adrian's stance wavered and he stepped back the moment Azazel's grip slackened. His shoulders slumped in grudging submission.

"I shall… my Lord." Adrian's tone was strained, as if the words were physically difficult to pronounce. He risked another glare and a low growl, but Azazel had already turned his back and ignored him utterly. The blue eyed devil stood at the precipice of his fortress and stared into the storm. His eye fixed on Rabanastre, though it was impossible to see beyond the raging sands.

"Demons are quite predictable, really." Azazel mused aloud. "Especially by one of their own, they all want to be the alpha, but cow easily when they know they are outmatched." He turned and gave a coy smile over his shoulder at the third figure. "So what say you, Fallen One? Are you alike to us? Or does your angelic mind give you a different insight?" The final figure stood tall from the shadows, clad in silver. Flowing silver hair cascaded from his head, framing beautiful and unearthly features. A seal red as blood was emblazoned on his forehead above silver eyes with dark imperfections cracking across their glow.

"I do not question the past, my Lord." His voice was smooth as silk, yet carried an eerie quality that made one's skin crawl. "I only make a humble request. Grant me the honor of destroying Rabanastre." Adrian scoffed and Onikage scowled, but the fallen angel only stared intently at Azazel's face. The devil turned fully to them and displayed a knowing smile.

"I do enjoy our games, Somnus. But that was rather transparent don't you think?" Azazel chuckled. "Regardless, I have my own plans for Rabanastre's destruction." The former Archangel furrowed his brow but it was Onikage who voiced the question.

"Which are? We command your armies; we need to know your plans." Azazel resettled himself into his throne and stared out into the storm with a smile.

"I will tell you when I wish to. When my son, Belial, returns with his prize, perhaps it will be time, perhaps not. That is my power to choose. Remember your places, you are lords of demons, but I am a lord of lords."

* * *

**Magnus POV**

I've never done terribly well in confined spaces. Sure, Karimah's airship was spacious enough to walk around a little, but not much. I couldn't shake the feeling of being locked in a metal can hurtling through the air at suicidal speeds. Another part of me felt a sort of frustration, as if I wanted to feel the air rushing past myself. It isn't hard to figure out which part of my heritage that stems from.

"Mag, how are you doing that?" Wesley was doubled over, avoiding the windows. He looked more than a little green. Flight was not agreeing with him as much as he thought it would. I stared out of the window he indicated and watched the dry ground pass hundreds of meters below. Heights, I had never had issue with. Wesley had thought so too, but now he found even looking at the ground augmented his motion sickness. I shrugged.

"I don't know Wesley; it just feels right up here somehow. The only thing I miss is the feeling of the wind on my face…" My friend glanced out the window and paled dramatically.

"Yeah, I'll leave you to that…" He disappeared further into the ship, looking to empty his stomach, muttering something unflattering about my elemental heritage. I suppose I've finally found something that can dampen Wesley's cheerful disposition.

"How are you lads doing back there?" Karimah shouted back from the cockpit gleefully. I stepped into the cockpit beside her and took the copilot seat, gaze fixed on open sky.

"I'm feeling a bit too comfortable up here… Wesley decidedly the opposite, he has motion sickness." Karimah glanced over at me.

"Well, this must be like being in your natural habitat for you, lad." She seemed bemused. "But I don't think it's just motion sickness bothering Wes. From what you told me you saw, he might not be all Hume, ya. Kind of a lot to take in at once, don't you think lad?" I paused to think. Nigmog had made no secret of my heritage. I had known I wasn't entirely human my entire life. To think you were one thing your entire life and then discover you were in part another, possibly a demon… I can't imagine.

"I'll try and talk to him." I stood and shook myself of that strange longing toward the open sky and turned towards the cabin. Karimah nodded.

"Good idea lad. I'll-" The cabin floor rushed to meet my face as the airship jerked violently.

"Ugh! What was that?" I shouted. Kari swore and more sudden jerks followed.

"Someone's trying to blow us out of the sky, hold onto your lunch!" I heard a strangled yelp from the cabin. Poor, poor Wesley…

* * *

**Serak's POV**

"I thought you wanted to kill them? You aren't aiming to destroy the ship." The white haired Hume, Voram Bane I had learned, didn't take his eyes off the controls when he answered.

"The records say that ship was in disrepair until today, missing some very expensive parts. In all likelihood, large parts of the payment that was stolen were spent to repair the ship."

"Clan Venator wants to recover its losses before recommitting to its agreement." The Judge sounded disdainful of the clan's business sense. Tough luck, not all of us have the entire Archadian military's resources at our disposal. The Judge sat beside Voram in the cockpit. The hunter was following the fugitive's ship through every maneuver, keeping pressure on it.

"If you want to force it down, you should try and damage a little more…" I growled slightly. Neither of these Humes seemed very pleased at my presence, but they could at least avoid prolonging this.

"That would lower the craft's value." The Judge was now using sarcasm, but Voram grunted in confirmation anyway. The Imperial shook his head.

"Your concerns are unwarranted," Voram said casually and indicated the window. "They're setting down in the Ozmone plains."

"It looksss like you damaged their enginesss." I snickered and drew his attention to a plume of smoke rising from the craft. If the Hume blushed, I couldn't see it. He set the airship down before responding.

"It couldn't be avoided." He brushed off my comment and picked up his battleaxe. "Judge Magister Balfour, Oriss instructed me to leave the fate of the thieves to you. What does Archadian justice demand?"

"If the theft was from the treasury of Archadia, the penalty would be death." The Judge readied his own weapon, large sword whose sheath he had affixed to his back. "As the theft was from clan Venator, and not Archadia, they should be captured alive if possible." Just the phrase I was waiting for, 'if possible'. It was far easier to bring someone in dead than alive. I needn't hold back. I picked up my rifle and attached my serrated sword to my belt. Better to get them from afar.

"I believe this is your area of expertise, it was Serak you said you were called?" The Judge stepped out of the airship and stared at the smoke rising just over a ridge. Voram ignored us both and set out immediately at a trot.

"Yesss." I said through gritted teeth. The Judge was tolerable, but the hunter Hume was proving himself infuriating. I set out at my own pace after him. I do need this job.

* * *

**Wesley's POV**

Thank everything holy and then some! I nearly collapsed the instant I had my feet on the good old earth again.

"I can't believe I'm off that flying deathtrap!" I laughed hysterically and enjoyed the simple things in life, like standing on something that didn't lurch beneath my feet every few seconds.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad." Kari pouted my way.

"Tell your puke smeared bathroom that, it has your piloting to thank! Jerking us all around like that!" I shot right back. Oh, my stomach churns just thinking about it. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts…

"Well, guess who gets to clean it, lad!" She wouldn't… Would she? I spotted my greatest ally stepping off the ramp and craning his neck towards a nearby ridge.

"Mag, buddy, help me out here!" He looked like he was listening for something, but definitely not me.

"We have more pressing things to worry about right now." He said quietly, like he was distracted. I can't believe it!

"Come on, don't abandon me Mag!" I cried out.

"Hear anything?" Kari glanced at the ridge and then Mag. "Like you did before?"

"Not voices," He shook his head, "But I do hear footfalls, getting closer. We should go." Well, don't I feel like a third wheel…

"What are guys talking about?" Kari rolled her eyes at me.

"I told you, he has some sort of super human hearing thing going on, ya." Oh, yeah.

"So what's so important about footsteps? Lots of things on these plains have footsteps!"

"These wear boots," Mag explained, "One of them anyway, another is in a suit of armor and the other doesn't sound like Hume footsteps." He smiled. "You do remember that we were being shot at, right?"

"You guys are ganging up on me!" I accused.

"For your own good." Kari gripped my arm with the quip and started to lead me away from the ridge. "We aren't on Venator's list of favorite people, lad." I twisted around to look at Mag. He was smiling too. He opened his mouth but stopped. His brow furrowed. I heard a small sharp crack. Then Kari screamed.

* * *

**Serak's POV**

"You should have aimed for one of the other's." Voram seemed exasperated. Annoyance flared in me, but I met his gaze with cold eyes. "The girl is the least dangerous."

"I wasn't sure the poison would affect them."

"Be silent, strike while surprise is still ours!" The wolf helmeted Judge snapped at us both and bound over the ridge with speed and ease surprising for a Hume in such armor. The hunter gave me another disdainful look but I was already taking aim with my rifle again. I could take one more shot before the strangely quick Judge closed the distance to them. The blond Hume, a demon hybrid I had been told, was in a panic. He was trying to carry or drag the bleeding girl away. She was breathing for now, even if she could only gasp and groan. He was easy prey for the Judge. I wouldn't waste the bullet. The other was stranger, with hair as white as Voram Bane's but mismatched eyes of blue and grey.

He was staring straight at me.

"Take your shot, Bangaa." The hunter said evenly. I could almost hear the grip on his axe tightening. The expression of intense concentration on his face was disconcerting, but the hunter was right. The trigger clicked almost imperceptibly as I squeezed it. The earth where he had stood exploded. I blinked. He had started to move the instant _before_ I'd finished pulling the trigger. Dumb luck? Maybe…

"You missed." Voram hissed as he leapt over the ridge and rushed after the hybrid, who was charging towards his struggling friend and the Judge.

"No," I muttered as I drew my own needle toothed sword. "He moved…" A dilemma I would figure out another day then.

* * *

**Magnus' POV**

How I was doing things was far from my mind. I thought only of Kari and the stunned look on her face as the bullet bit into her abdomen and Wesley's panicked cries. More to the point, I focused on the wolf headed mass of black metal heading their way. He was faster than any man in that armor had a right to be. I was faster. I lunged, dirk in hand, and stabbed at his back. It did not penetrate his metal plates, but he did stumble. Pain dazzled my vision when he whipped around with a swift back hand. I lost my footing but back flipped into a guarded stance. An idle part of me noted that I'd never have been able to do that only a few days before.

"Nobody else need be harmed!" The Judge had his blade tip down. "By the laws of Archadia, I ask that you give yourself into my custody. The girl's wounds will be treated and none of you shall be harmed further."

"And what then?" I snapped furiously. "What will happen to us then?" The Judge paused for a moment.

"You will be held accountable for your theft according to Archadian law. You will be imprisoned for a time in the capital, then you may go free. Though I would not recommend returning to Rabanastre, Clan Venator settles its own debts." He has no idea what was at stake.

"I can't let you do that." I gritted my teeth. "There's someone I need to help out here, somewhere. I will save him. I will save Kari, and I will save Wesley. I will not allow you to stop me." His blade tip shifted upwards. I braced myself.

"Reconsider…" His voice was full of steel, cold and hard.

"No," I said it quietly, resolved.

"Stay out of this." The Judge gestured towards something behind me. I risked a glance over my shoulder. That hunter, Bane, and a purple scaled Bangaa holding a painful looking serrated blade had stopped short only a few yards behind me. Even though Bane frowned, he was clearly unwilling to fight with the Judge over this. I've never been very good at discerning a Bangaa's mood, but the purple scaled being seemed more interested than malicious. I brought my dirk around in front of my face. The Judge pointed his blade at me. That feeling of euphoria came over me readily. It seemed to be getting easier and easier.

"Wind blade!" I sliced my dirk across me. The Judge's sword flew up in a guard, but the focused edge of air knew no obstacle. The armored man stumbled back from the force of the blow impacting his armor. He recovered in less than a second; the attack had failed to pierce his armor. He surged forth and swiped his blade in an upward arc. I moved away from the blow. Pain exploded in my head.

"You have one more chance to yield." He did not relax the gauntleted fist I had not seen when dodging his blade. Wet warmth dripped down from my forehead, staining white hair red. It throbbed in time with my heart beats. I raised my dirk again and gritted my teeth. "You have not chosen wisely." He raised his sword to resume battle.

"AARG!" The Judge fell to the side as a short sword stabbed into his side hard enough to pierce the armor and sink into three inches of flesh. Wesley stood, blazing red pools of bloodlust faded to blue confusion and fear. "Mag?" The Judge grunted and started to regain his feet.

"Get Karimah!" I screamed at him. He was not yet used to his demon blood. It was foreign and frightful to him. I whirled; Bane and the Bangaa were advancing, taking Wesley's interference as a signal to interfere themselves. "Run!" Wesley needed no telling twice. He grabbed Karimah's semi conscious form and slipped her arm over his shoulder. Her head was lolling from side to side and she was muttering deliriously. The wolf helm Judge was up now. The other two were flanking him on either side. We could not hope to outrun them.

"The longer you resist, the closer she gets to death!" The Judge shouted. "Do not sacrifice her for your useless bid to freedom. You _will_ be caught, you can only delay." I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore the blood trickling down my face. Was this my choice? My father or Karimah?

That was when the demons attacked.

I was not sure what it was at first. The sky seemed to darken and the earth to shake. Then they arrived. A cacophony of vile shrieks echoed in the hills as they emerged from the ridge behind us. They were monstrosities, some with too many limbs, and some with too few. Some were without faces but screamed all the same and others had faces too grotesque to describe. Others appeared only as amorphous shadows, leaping beside the rest. These were the rabble of demon kind. The Judge and his companions started shouting. We were forgotten by them in the rushing horde.

"Wesley!" I screamed. I need not have bothered. My blond friend had given up on helping Karimah walk. He was now running along with startling speed. He had picked her up bridal style, her limp form now unconscious. I flourished my dirk and made to follow. Some of the demons might take notice of us.

"Oh? Where do you little half breeds think you're going?" The voice was smooth and deep. I turned towards it. Its owner was covered in black metal more akin to an insect's exoskeleton than a suit of plate armor. Pale blue eyes stared from a skull shaped helm. A jolt of euphoria went up my spine, stronger than ever. Warmth spread to my limbs. My head throbbed. Pain, Nothing…

* * *

_Note from the Author_

_This was a little shorter than planned, but I figured you all would prefer an update than a prolonged wait because of my writer's block. I think I have what I want to do worked out, though. There will be one more Darkness Order, and then the Fire Order shall begin._

_As per my usual, I encourage all of you to leave a review and all who have yet to submit a BIO to do so._

_Feedback motivates me to write more quickly!_


	6. Darkness Order Finale: Cruel World

**_"It isn't my policy to live in fear, but the things this elemental woman told me terrify me to no end. There are things stirring to the west, demons gathering to a single banner. They ready to march at the command of a single being. What does he wait for? What is his goal? That answer might just terrify me most of all."_**

**_-Musings of Nigmog the Magi_  
**

* * *

**Magnus POV**

The world came back by inches. I was lying down on my back, some sort of bedding, not my bed at home though. The air was hot and humid. I felt stiff and weak, but I managed to crack my eyes open. It was blurry, a door of green in dark walls.

"Hey, Mag!" My senses were dulled, but that voice was nearly as familiar as my own.

"Wesley," I croaked with effort. My body felt sore all over, like I'd been too close to a suicidal Bomb.

"Woah, take it easy. You collapsed back there." My vision grew marginally clearer, and I could just barely make out my friend's blond head.

"Collapsed?" The only bits of the recent past I remember are a blur. There were fragments of a fight…

"Yeah, don't you remember?" I would guess Wesley looked concerned by the tone of his voice. All I remember are pale blue eyes.

"Help me up."

"I don't think you should-"

"Wesley, help me up." Best friends know when and when not to argue. Wesley helped me lift myself into a sitting position. "What happened? I don't recall much…" Finally, my vision was clear enough to see his curious expression.

"Really? Well, you and one of the demons started going at it. You went into that weird trance thing you did in the desert. You didn't remember anything then either." He started grinning like an excited child. "You should have seen yourself! You were like a damn hurricane."

"And then?" I prompted. "When did I collapse?"

"You managed to blow him away for awhile, and then you just went limp. It was really weird. You did that last time too, just pass out when the fight was done." He looked confused and stopped talking, like he was trying to figure out what had happened to me. I can't say I fully understand it myself, but I wasn't done with my interrogation.

"So how did we get here, where _is _here?"

"Ah," Wesley scratched the back of his head, "well that's a funny story."

"Wesley…"

"Well, I ran to the jungle, which wasn't easy carrying two people, and found some Viera. Actually, I guess the Viera found us. They were going to turn us away, then one of them took a good look at you and decided to let us into their village. It was weird." That it was, but something more important occurred to me.

"Karimah?" He was smiling again.

"She's fine, they took care of her."

"Very well, let's go see her." I started to rise. Wesley's face turned to panic.

"Hey, wait a second, that's not a good idea Mag. You-" I gave him the best withering look I could muster.

"Wesley, help me up." He gave a long suffering sigh and helped me to my feet.

"Not my fault," he muttered, "follow me." He led me outside the hut. The village was even more picturesque than anything my father had described. Slender Viera strode along suspended platforms. Sunlight filtered down from distant foliage. Wesley led me to a hut only a single platform away. The Viera stared and whispered to one another as we passed. "Here we are. Kari! We're coming to visit!" He shouted. She was scowling as I limped in. She was sitting up in some kind of bedroll and her midriff was heavily bandaged.

"Karimah," I smiled, it was good to see she was alright. "It's good to see you."

"You idiot, you weren't supposed to let him get up. ya!" Wesley shrugged helplessly.

"Hey, I can't stop Mag when he wants something. You should know that by now! He's devious and threatens me. He doesn't say the threats but I know they're there!"

"You're a spineless liar, lad!" I couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"I'm glad we're all okay." For the first time since I'd entered the room, Karimah smiled.

"Yeah, me too, Mag, me too."

"You are Magnus?" there was a Viera standing at the entrance. She was staring straight at me with a piercing look. I was surprised but tried not to show it. I suspect I failed miserably. I cleared my throat.

"Yes, I am Magnus. Who are you?"

"Walk with me." She didn't anwser the question and abruptly, yet gracefully, stepped away from the hut entrance. I didn't know what to make of that. I looked to my friends. Wesley gave me an ever so helpful mystified shrug. Karimah waved me off.

"Go ahead, lad. We're not going anywhere soon." I was suspicious about why they had allowed us in the village, but I supposed there wasn't much else to be done. I stepped out into the filtered sunlight. The Viera was waiting, hands patiently clasped in front of her. She studied me impassively for several moments.

"I am Myrn, the leader of this village." She spoke finally.

"Yes, well, a pleasure to meet you." Strange how a tall mild mannered bunny eared woman could be so intimidating. "My name is Magnus."

"I am aware." She said. She did just called me that mere moments ago.

"How do you know me?" I blurted out. The Viera gestured along the suspended walkway and started down it. I hurriedly fell into step just behind her.

"Your name, I learned from your companions." I shook my head.

"Yet you seemed to know me some way beforehand. Why did you take us to your village?" Myrn was silent for some time before she spoke. A knot of apprehension tightened in my stomach, though I wasn't sure what exactly I dreaded to hear.

"There was another wind elemental who visited here, years ago now." I nearly stopped dead.

"Who?"

"She was Aella, a daughter of Boreas, the North Wind. She came here with a dragon named Valens Unguis. She earned our friendship, and we extend that to her kin." She turned to regard me expectantly. "Are you not her son?"

"I..." I was at a complete loss. "Wha-what makes you believe I am her son?" Now her gaze was quizzical.

"Your features are not dissimilar. You have the same hair, snow white, and eyes, one of them at least, storm grey." My thoughts were whirling. My mother had been here. My mother had traveled here with a dragon of all things. The sound of Myrn speaking broke into my thoughts.

"If I may, your companion spoke of a pendant you carried from your mother. May I see it?" I shouldn't trust Wesley to stay silent after all, it seems. Seeing no harm in it, I withdrew the bluish pendant and offered it. Myrn did not take it from me. Instead she took a step closer and traced the wing designs around the central sphere with a fingertip.

"Yes, Lady Aella had this with her when she was here. It was a gift from the dragon, here..." She indicated the furled wing designs. "Dragon wings, the dragon with her called it a memory stone. I was correct, you are her son." What was this dragon to my mother anyway? Moreover...

"What do you mean by memory stone? What does it do?". The Viera turned her attention away from the memory stone and looked down one of the walkways, one that headed downwards and twisted out of view behind a tree.

"I was told it could hold the memories of it's true owner, Lady Aella in this case. Though one who was close to her might be able to tap into it as well, under the correct circumstances. Do you wish to try?" My mother... And this dragon, Valens, who was he? Did he yet live?

"I... Yes, tell me what I need to do."

"There is little to tell," she admitted and pointed down the walkway she had been contemplating, "down this way you will find a grove Lady Aella was quite fond of." Myrn turned to me and looked me in the eye. "Take the stone their and quiet yourself. It may begin to reminisce of the memories that place held for your mother." She stepped aside and I took a breath.

"Thank you, Myrn, this means a great deal." I breathed out. I went down the platform as fast as I could without breaking into a run. It didn't take me long to get there. It was a clearing, or something similar. Stones large enough to sit on sat near it's center. Around it, gorgeous waterfalls. The light trickling down from above played dancing rainbows upon the dully roaring plummeting water. A breeze stirred the air and made the purple and white flowers sway. It was incredible.

"Alright," I exhaled and took a seat on a stone, holding the pendant out before me, "What memories do you hold of this place?" It was starting to grow warm in my hand. I closed my eyes. There was a moment of disorientation. My mind felt detached from my physical senses. Then I started to hear and see.

* * *

"It's quite beautiful, isn't it Val?" The woman had snow white hair despite her comely youthful features. She sat upon the very rock I was sitting on now, garbed in a blue dress and grey cloak, smiling. 'Val', the dragon I presumed though he looked like a tall brown haired man, was walking around the perimeter of the clearing taking lingering looks on the rainbow displays. He smiled at her.

"I've seen better," he raised a hand to stop her forthcoming objection, "But few at all that nature alone crafted. The gardens of Angels and Humes and others are all calculated. This spot came about by chance. It makes it more beautiful in it's way." Aella laughed.

"It makes it more beautiful in every way, Val. Nature never makes the same garden twice, as Humes often do." She stood and walked towards him, clasping both his hands in hers. "I wish to thank you again, Val, for accompanying me. You have made my travels so much more pleasant." He matched her smiled but took his hands away and started digging through his pockets.

"Think nothing of it, Aella, I have been looking for you for some time now. Now, I have a gift for you." Valens produced a pendant from his pocket. It was a blue design of a sphere partially enfolded in wings and wind gusts.

"Is this a memory stone?" My mother gasped and tentatively took the pendant from his hand. "I didn't realize any more of these existed!"

"The Dragons still remember how to make them." Valens stated, and folded her hands around the pendant. "Keep the memories you never wish to lose here from now on, and you will be able to relive them whenever you like."

"I will," Aella leaned up and kissed his cheek. "And I think this will be the first."

* * *

"Hey, Mag, you okay there?" When Wesley's voice reached me, I realized I was slumped in my chosen seat. Shaking myself out of the daze, I stood quickly and turned to face my blond haired friend. He looked concerned. My head was swimming as if I had been in a drinking competition with a hard drinking Seeq. It must have shown on my face because Wesley was frowning intently and shaking me.

"I'm fine. I just learned a few things..." He would want to know more, but I had reached a mental limit for the day. "Don't ask me about it. I've exerted myself more than I should have this day." Wesley couldn't seem to decide whether to show disappointment or concern on his face. Somehow he managed both. Eventually, however, he sighed.

"Alright, Mag, let's get you to some rest." He flashed a smile loaded with false bravado from head to toe. "And this time, I'll make you stay!"

"You couldn't hold me if you cared to." I laughed. Wesley helped me stand and held onto my arm on the way up the walkway lest I fall. I realized there was something I needed to talk to him about.

"Wesley, we should speak about your... heritage." I breathed. Wesley's face instantly hardened and the look in his eyes became more distant.

"What's there to talk about? I have a demon parent, which is only slightly worse than having no parents I suppose." He wouldn't look at me. This was an awkward conversation, especially what with me not know what he was feeling. What to say...

"Look, this doesn't change anything, not really. You're still you and you're still as hume as you've ever been." I hope that was the right thing to say.

"Yeah," He half laughed, "Which is apparently a lot less hume than I thought it was." Apparently not. Let's see...

"Wesley-" An earsplitting crash of splintering wood drowned out my words. Screaming started, some in terror, some in defiance, others deep in bloodthirsty glee.

"Demons?" Wesley was staring up into the canopy in wide eyed shock, mouth hanging open. I limped forward myself and looked back at him urgently.

"Come on, we have to get Karimah!" The blond swordsman shook himself from his stupor and started half helping half dragging me up the walkway faster than a trotting chocobo.

"Going so soon? I don't think so. I have a debt to repay." That voice, it was disturbingly familiar. I whirled so fast Wesley actually slipped and hit the ground face first.

"Mag? What- Oh shit." He paled dramatically. Towering and imposing, the demon from before stood behind us. His body was still encased in insectoid black armor, but no helm obscured his face. Pale blue malice filled eyes glared at me from rugged pallid features under a mess of raven hair. He lofted a massive darksteel sword in my direction and grinned with a mouth of needle teeth.

"Uh, Mag? Do you think you could do you're wind god routine again?" Wesley slowly took his feet and stepped behind me.

"I can't control that." I hissed. The demon laughed in a surreally deep voice.

"Pathetic, you can't even harness your own abilities! That uncontrolled burst took me off guard before, but it will not save you. I'll make a goblet of your skull!" I don't even remember what I did to him, but clearly he has an axe to grind. Still, there was no choice here. I could defend my friends or die. An image of my father flashed through my mind. I fixed the demon with an icy stare.

"You will tell me where Nigmog is." I stated. I could feel the euphoric sensation rising again, but it was different. It felt more distant, dampened, malleable... Controllable. I swiped my arm across my body and a wind blade tore across the walkway at the demon.

"Good," He grinned manically as his sword was covered with slithering shadows. It sliced my wind blade aside with a single mighty swipe. "My name is Belial, know it well." Wesley was beside me before I knew it, both swords drawn.

"Hey, I won't be standing by this time." He gave a lopsided grin. "Besides, Mag would be lost without me. Two on one now, demon guy." Thank you Wesley. Belial barked in laughter and surged forward. His sword fell towards Wesley, impacting both his short sword with incredible force, Wesley went down to one knee. Writhing shadows wrapped around both blades. There was a fierce shattering sound. Wesley's swords broke into pieces, glittering shards raining on the ground.

"Wesley!" I screamed. He was so shocked he didn't have a chance. The darksteel blade carved a bloody trench in his chest. He fell to the ground, gasping in vain. "You bastard!" I snarled and slice my hand across, unleashing another wind blade. The demon had no chance to swipe it aside this time. It slammed into him, carving scars into his armor. It failed to shed so much as a drop of his black blood. Belial snarled and leapt with blade raised. I moved. I was faster than him. At least I had one advantage. His sword embedded itself into the trunk of one of the jungle's massive trees.

"AGH!" Belial screamed in frustration and yanked his blade free in a shower of splinters. I swung my arms around in front of me and launched wind blade after wind blade into him. He stumbled after each hit, though he swatted some aside like flies. The demon lunged towards me. I gathered myself and focused on my closed fist. A miniature hurricane whipped around it and I moved. He swung wildly. It seemed slow. I went under his guard and dealt him an uppercut with all my gathered power, I felt sharp talons rip across my arm. The hit sent him spiraling into the same tree he had ripped his sword from. One of his claw like gauntlets was dripping with blood. I fell to the ground, only then realizing that I had been floating for the better half of that battle gasping at the pain of the long deep gashes cut down my arm. Belial stood, black blood dripping down hid face from a head wound, and spat in my direction.

"Enough!" His voice quaked with anger. A shadow appeared and deposited a small form on the walkway, a familiar form...

"Dad," I groaned. He shifted feebly and muttered something impossible to hear.

"We shall make a bargain." Belial growled out. I clutched my arm and gritted my teeth. He waved his arm to indicate the village above and around us. "You hear them? The screams and the fires? You can stop it all. You can stop it and give this creature his freedom." He indicated Nigmog and took a step towards me. His head had already stopped bleeding.

"W-What do you want?" I managed to hiss. Belial grinned and knelt not five feet from where I was on my knees, blood starting to seep into the wood beneath my arm. Pale icy blue malevolent eyes bore into me.

"You,"

"Me?" I must have misheard.

"You," Belial was relishing the confusion on my face, "Become my prisoner and the moogle will be freed. I will break off my attack. You are the purpose of all this."

"Me..." Why? Why in all of Ivalice would demons take an interest in me? They went through all the trouble of luring me from Rabanastre with Nigmog. More importantly, would he keep his word? One could not trust a demon, but a further fight would probably kill me. He's too strong for me before I have full control over my powers. I'd only die, denying Belial his prize and signing the death warrant of all those I care about.

What choice did I have?

"...Then do it!" I shouted, "Send all them away! Leave them alone and let my father go!" The demon's lips twitched as if he found something amusing.

"As you wish..." The screaming and crashes began to diminish almost immediately. The shadow moved away from Nigmog, leaving him where he lay. Belial struck his sword into the ground and started chanting under his breath. Tendrils of darkness slithered off his sword into the air. They moved away from the walkway, coalescing into a bridge of writhing shadows stretching into the jungle.

"Gah!" Wesley coughed and spluttered. Amazingly, his chest was almost completely healed. Belial took notice.

"To be healed so quickly, you are impressive for an untrained half breed... Better the prize then." He reached down and grabbed my friend by the arm.

"Stop! This wasn't part of our deal, let him go!" The demon turned his head and gave me a needle tooth grin.

"Neither was his freedom guaranteed, or would you rather I called back my horde?" I could not stop him, I knew that. "Start walking." He gestured to the dark bridge. I did as he bade, taking one last glance at my father, who appeared to be struggling to consciousness and staring at me. At least that one thing, my original goal, had gone right.

* * *

**Karimah's POV**

"Gods, what the hell is happening?" I lie down to take a nap and when I wake up the world looks like it's ending, terrific. There was fire, lots of fire. The heat was rolling onto me from the hut opening. It was like standing near a blasted fire elemental. Still, I couldn't just sit here and roast.

"Up you go Kari," I muttered as I gingerly eased myself onto my feet. A twinge of pain from my bandaged abdomen nearly made me lose my legs but I managed. I could hear the screams. "Got to find Mag and Wes. Got to get out of here." There was a fine list of priorities. I stumbled onto the exterior walkway. Dark figures were retreating into the jungle. The Viera were starting to emerge, but I couldn't see those lads anywhere.

"Hello?" I would have drawn a kunai and twisted around if a spasm of agony from my still tender midriff hadn't forced me to lean against the hut. I looked for the rotten bastard that had nearly scared me out of my wits. He was right behind me. Striking violet eyes and an accompanying frown were framed by weird shoulder length silver hair. He crossed his arms, in the sleeves of a white shirt, and stared at me.

"It's not polite to stare, lad, or to sneak up on a lady like that." His frown deepened.

"Sorry, are you one of Magnus Cataegis' companions?" Well, all business it is then.

"Who wants to know?" He sighed.

"My name is Tymas Ormandes. Please, if you really are his friend, you must know it is very important that I find him." Ah, well he clearly isn't getting the picture here.

"I'll be extra clear here, lad, just for you. I'm not telling you a thing until you explain what you're about." He uncrossed his arms and put a hand to his forehead in exasperation.

"This is very important. It's about his mother. In case you haven't noticed, everyone here is in a lot of danger." He did have a point. I didn't want to admit it, but I was as eager to end this little standoff and get to finding my two friends as soon as possible.

"Alright, fine, I'm a friend of the lad. Now, care to help me look for him and Wes?" He opened his mouth but a flurry of heavy coughing from down a walkway interrupted him. That certainly didn't sound like a Viera. Myself and this Tymas character exchanged glances and rushed toward it. Now that did wonderful things to my bullet wound, ouch. I squinted through the fading smoke to spy what I could. I saw a little figure half limping half crawling up a walkway, the old moogle?

"Nigmog?" I blurted. "Siruh, what are you doing here?"

"Magnus' foster father..." Tymas muttered, but his eyes looked concerned, a point for him then. I crouched and grabbed the moogle's shoulder to steady him.

"Too late, too late..." He was muttering between coughs.

"Nigmog the magi," Tymas tilted his head in greeting, "Where is Magnus?"

"Too late!" The magi snapped. "The demons have him, they will take him to Azazel!" My heart plunged and Tymas turned pale as a sheet.

"What could a demon want with Magnus?" Nigmog seemed too distraught to focus on me. He stared into the sky.

"Azazel is no normal demon. He is the most powerful of the Infernal lords and..." He bit his lip, his pompom was trembling like a leaf. "Years ago Magnus' mother came to me. She had just escaped his dungeons. She told me..." Nigmog seemed on the verge of passing into unconsciousness. "He... He forced himself upon her. Azazel is Magnus' father."

* * *

_Note from the Author_

_I cannot apologize enough for the wait. I wrote a big piece of it, lost it, got distracted by school preparation, before finally finding time to write most of this during a power outage._

_Anyway, this is the end of the Darkness Order. The next arc will be called Inferno Order and it will see the entrance of some yet unseen Bio characters and the return of some old ones. As you might imagine, it will follow Karimah and Magnus' stories seperately. I would like some feedback on that. Would you all prefer that I advance each in each chapter, devoting half a chapter to each, or alternating between chapters?_

_Also, I am still accepting Bios from those who have yet to submit one, though I do not guarantee they will appear. All the ones I have previously recieved are guaranteed to appear._

_Until next time, please review!_


	7. Inferno Order 1:  Heart of Darkness

"_**I have been running experiments with small elemental specimens, the sort of mindless creatures most of those we regard as true elementals see as rodents. I know Magnus has dormant abilities but I am certain that only the barest hint of them reaches the surface. I have uncovered several circumstances that can awaken the powers of an elemental beyond what they are physically prepared for, or even force a quick maturity to accommodate the new power. The first is an infusion of energy from a more powerful elemental. It seems to jump start the younger elemental's system, not unlike adrenaline but with much more lingering effects. The second is to force the creature into a stressed situation where they must access their abilities in order to survive. I can only pray Magnus is never subjected to either…"**_

_**-Musings of Nigmog the Magi**_

* * *

**Karimah's POV**

"These tunnels will lead us to the edge of the Estersands, from there we will head east to old Nabradia." I jolted out of my daydreaming. This Tymas fellow really doesn't know how to read a mood does he? He had decided to lead us through the underbrush of the jungle into some cave, which lead to more caves and now it was dark and I've stubbed my toes ten times. I could get over that but I'm not certain all those things were rocks. I think a few of them were moving…

"Where in the blazes are you taking us anyway, lad?" I blurted out in frustration. I want a reason, a reason we aren't going after Magnus and Wesley, a reason we could very well be leaving them to their deaths.

"To the Anemoi," His voice was quiet but clearly filled with a sort of reverence. Not that it helped me figure out what in Ivalice he was saying.

"What!" I stubbed my toe for the eleventh time as Nigmog nearly shrieked. He had been quiet for so long I had nearly forgotten he was there, poor thing. I squinted behind me enough to make him out in the gloom. His ears had perked up and his tired eyes had taken on a new life. "Truly? The Anemoi?"

"Yeah, care to give me a hint, ya?" I nearly growled, maybe a bit meaner than I should have, if I'm upset he must be at rock bottom. He didn't seem to take offense. Whatever these Anemoi things were, they must be a big deal. The old moogle hopped past me and started to match Tymas' pace.

"The Anemoi are the four winds, the four most powerful of all wind elementals. Gods in their own right! Tell me, Tymo was it? Was it one of them that met Magnus in the Westersands?"

"Tymas," The strange man corrected, "and yes, it was Zephyrus, the west wind. They wanted me to bring Magnus to them," For the first time some emotion crept into his voice, sadness, regret, or both. "but you'll have to do." Somehow I'm not disappointed at being the second choice.

"So what are you? Do the Anem-what-ya-call-'em drag you off the street to play errand boy, ye?" He half turned and I got the sure feeling he was cocking an eyebrow at me. Maybe he could see me better than I could see him in the dark.

"I'm half gravity elemental," He said with a condescending tone. Next to him, Nigmog's ears seemed to be twitching. "Is there anything else you'd like-"

"Be silent!" The moogle's ears were definitely twitching when he hissed that. "Listen! We are not alone." Then I heard them too. Footsteps have a way of echoing in underground caverns, especially when said feet are clad in metal. That judge was persistent, I'd give him that. "Hide yourselves!" I felt around blindly until I found a crevasse in the stone wall. After poking around with my kunai to make sure it wasn't already occupied by some hideous subterranean monstrosity, I slid myself into the close confines. By the scuffling, Nigmog and the hybrid had found their own places.

"…and where did that hunter get off to anyway?" Low and gravelly, sounds like a Bangaa.

"Don't concern yourself with him, he likely chose to stay with their ship and contact his superiors. They'll easily have recouped their losses if they salvage it." Muffled by a helmet and maddeningly familiar? That was the wolf headed judge. I swear I've heard that voice before in Archadia. More importantly, how dare that hunter scrap my ship!

"I thought the entire purpossse of going after the thieves was to save face for the clan?" The Bangaa sounds as uncomfortable as I feel in these caverns. The Judge laughed bitterly.

"Better to show they can send a Judge Magister of Archadia to do it for them." The Bangaa replied with a confused growl.

"Then why play along?"

"The Law of Archadia must be satisfied." I really hope he isn't someone that took me in for some tricks in Old Archades. The footsteps paused for a palpable moment. I held my breath. "Did you hear that?" What? There was a draft coming through the crevasse behind me, damn, if that leads them here I'm done.

"…It sounds like breathing." The Bangaa sounded like he, or was it a she? I could never tell with Bangaa voices, was slipping into a ready stance. Now that I think about it, this draft was moving in two directions. First it blew my pony tail up towards my face and then it seemed to pull it the other way. A low rumbling came behind me.

Oh hell.

I shrieked at the top of my lungs as I lunged out of the death trap. The entire cavern trembled as something humongous started trying to force itself through the tiny hole. It didn't stay tiny for long. I heard a lot of scrambling and shouting behind my but my eyes were glued to the monstrous head and shoulder that had already made its way through the stone. I've seen airships smaller than this thing! It was a doglike horned head of razor sharp teeth and fiery eyes.

"It's a Demon Behemoth!" I vaguely heard Nigmog yelling over the din. "The Infernal Lords use them as siege engines. This one must have gotten cut off from that horde in the jungle!" Someone grabbed me by the arm and yanked me away from the monster.

"I'll deal with you later." The voice was low and right in my ear. A jerked away and stared at the wolf helmeted Judge. He was facing the demon, only looking at me from the corner of his eye. "Then you can tell me where your friends are." He pulled a massive greatsword from his back and slid into a combat stance.

"Karimah! Come here!" The moogle seemed to have regained his bossiness. I shook myself out of my daze and pulled out my kunai. Then the behemoth pulled itself free of the wall in a shower of rock. There must have been another tunnel on the other side. Tymas was on it in a flash, he had pulled some sort of silver sword and, unless I had finally lost my marbles, was actually running along the roof of the cavern as if it were the ground. Gravity elemental, go figure.

"The back and shoulders will be heavily armored! Aim for the underbelly!" Nigmog no sooner yelled than the boom of a rifle rang out and the demon gave a roar of pain. Wait a second, I've heard that rifle before! I twisted and stared at the female Bangaa with her sights trained on the beast. She winked.

"Ssstill breathing, girl?" Great, now I don't know whether to attack the demon or the Bangaa. The behemoth gave a feral roar as it tried to maneuver its bulk in the close confines of the cave. Tymas kept standing straight above it, swatting away at its head, leaving nasty gashes and an exposed belly as it reared to attack him. The Judge moved forward, bizarrely fast in all that plate armor. His sword hit home, sinking near two feet of its length into the monster's torso. The judge leaned heavily on the blade with a grunt and it slid in another foot. The creature flailed, smacking the Judge off his feet into a stone outcrop with one great paw. There was a great crunch of metal and bones and a squelching of bloody flesh. He went limp. I could see the blood pooling under him. The monster kept flailing, pawing at the massive sword lodged in its stomach. I moved to help.

"Stay back! It strikes out blindly!" Tymas shouted in warning. I stopped short, mind racing about just how in all the hells I was supposed to help if I couldn't get close. Tymas dropped down and drove his silver sword in the beast's neck, dragging it in a bloody trench as he ran down the beast's back. The creature was spurting black blood everywhere now. A purple black aura appeared around Tymas' free hand. There was a great crack and a stone stalactite dislodged itself from the ceiling, suddenly much heavier than before. It plunged down, catching the demon mid back. It collapsed with a deafening groan. Then it kept flailing weakly. Just what did it take to kill this thin-

A shot rang out and spurt of blood burst out the side of the monster's skull. It went limp in an already large pool of its own blood. It was all over before I had a chance to do anything.

Damnit, I really am useless! All I've done in the past day is get shot, lie in bed while Mag and Wes were captured, and nearly get eaten. What's wrong with me?

"Now then…" Something round and cold pressed against my temple. The raspy Bangaa's voice was close. "I have a contract to fill, _girl_." She spat the word at me and pressed the rifle barrel harder against my head. "Do tell, where are those boys you were with?" Now I can add getting taken hostage to my list…

"I wouldn't do that." It was that lad, Tymas. His voice broke me from my sulking. The silver haired man was sitting on the very same rocky outcrop the Judge was bleeding next to. The old moogle had arranged himself next to the fallen Judge. "I'm doubting this Archadian told his superiors about hiring your services, did he?" That caught the damned she-lizard off guard. She hissed in indecision and the pressure on my skull lessened. All I could ask for. I whipped around with my kunai poised it ready at the Bangaa's eye. She blinked and hissed angrily. Careful not to move her head, she prodded me in the sternum with her rifle.

"The boy is right." Nigmog said clear and calmly. Tymas raised an eyebrow at the word 'boy', but said nothing. "If your employer dies, your fee will go unpaid. I offer you an ultimatum." The moogle placed a tiny paw on the jet black armor of the Judge. "I was a mage in the war, and I can heal this man if you lay down your arms. However," His paw fell from the Judge and he assumed a stony expression. "As I said, I was a mage in the war, and I was not simply a healer. Kill Miss Karimah and you will quickly find why they call me Magi." I whistled.

"Wow, sirruh, I didn't know you had it in ya." I gave the Bangaa a wink and shifted the kunai in my hand ever so slightly closer to her eye. After a moment's hesitation, the Bangaa spat out a stream of curses and dropped the damned rifle with a clatter on the floor. She held up her hands and stepped away.

"Keep an eye on her while I work, Karimah, I'm sure our guide would be happy to find us an alternate root out of these caves in the mean time…" I hadn't even noticed in all the commotion. That rampaging monstrosity had caused quite a bit of damage, the tunnel we'd been following had been completely sealed by rocks I couldn't even dream of moving.

"Couldn't ya just move the rocks, gravity boy?" I took out my second kunai and kicked the rifle further from the Bangaa.

"Only if I wanted to bring the whole cavern down on us," his tone was dry and weary. "Unfortunately I don't actually know another way. I was only given the one path." It didn't seem to stop him bringing part of the cavern down during the fight! Fantastic…

"Perhaps I may assist…" If our heads had turned any faster we'd all need Nigmog to heal our neck injuries. It was deep, male, and made my skin crawl like a swarm of beetles. The voice's originator stepped into what little light there was. It was a man, best I could tell, his features were partially hidden under the white hood of his long coat. Bafflingly, he seemed to have a hodgepodge of random armor pieces strapped to his body. There was a spiked bracer on one wrist, a smooth gauntlet on the other, half a breastplate strapped over his black shirted chest, an elegantly engraved shin piece on one leg, a scaled one on the other, the effect was a bizarre scavenger's hoard of second hand battle trophies. I glimpsed his face and chill slithered down my spine. His pale eyes set in a dark skinned face held a crazed look, shifting frantically between us.

"Who the hell are you, ya?" I blurted out impulsively. His eyes swiveled on to me and he drew his lips into a tight lipped smile.

"Why, I am simply a hermit living away from the troubles of society. I have my home near here and the surface both. I'm afraid my wife and I receive few guests." He drew his arm to his chest and bowed, gesturing to the cavern behind him with a free hand. His movements were jerky and spasmodic, like he was having some sort of fit. "Forgive me, I am Kane Arganar and I humbly invite you to my home as my honored guests."

* * *

**Magnus' POV**

My body is a torture. My feet are black and blue from the hunched marching, back bleeding from the prodding and the beating; my hands are caked with dirt and dry blood from each time I've fallen whether due to a malevolent push or my own exhaustion. Trudging along beside me, Wesley was in even worse shape. His demon blood was healing him, but he still had bruises on half his face from the last instance he had decided to mouth off to our captors. A normal human would have had his skull caved in.

"Eyes down, boy." The demon named Belial had a note of playful sadism in his voice. I riveted my eyes to the ground before me, concentrating on not mistaking the sandsea for the sand. The demons had spirited us off to the edge of the Ozmone plains. There they had waiting a crude ship, a ship of the sea not the air. It had brought them past the Westersands and into the sandsea. Which leads us here and now, forced to march in column with a horde of twisted monstrosities. Belial had taken great care to make our situation as miserable as he could manage.

"Bastard," Wesley muttered. For the swelling, it sounded more like a groan of pain. A few of the demons laughed lightly at him. Belial didn't seem to have heard.

"Why my father takes so much interest in you, wind bastard, I have no idea." Belial continued. He wanted me to react, reactions he gave him an excuse to punish. All the same…

"Me?" I uttered hoarsely, reminding myself I had been without water for over a day now. I was expecting the blow, but the flat of the demon's blade left quite a welt. I hissed my agony between my gritted teeth, but Belial seemed satisfied.

"Yes, you, it was all about you, _Magnus_." He said my name mockingly. "We would have taken you right then if you had been there, but there was only that decrepit moogle. So, I lead you on away from the city and those annoying city guards and clans." He grabbed my shoulder and pulled my up straight. I risked a glance straight ahead. We had come to the mouth of a cave.

"This is Raithwall's tomb?" I asked faintly. The act of stopping had allowed all the fatigue to hit my body all at once. I felt leaden. I heard Wesley nearly collapse before he straightened himself by sheer force of will. Belial laughed.

"As far as you should be concerned, this is the heart of darkness in Ivalice." I gathered my nerves and stole a look at the humanoid demon. Pale blue eyes bore into my own mismatched orbs with a disturbing intensity. The weight of dread settled atop my fatigue, but it came with a spark of curiosity. This Belial did not know why I was wanted, and that bothered him. It bothered him quite a lot. I settled my eyes forward but I heard him step closer and felt his breath on my ear, "March." So we went, through the blackness of the tunnel. It ended much more quickly than I had expected. Soon we were emptied into a large courtyard with the massive façade of the Dynast King's elaborate tomb towering over us.

"Hell…" Wesley wasn't staring at the tomb as he wheezed out the word. Built atop the tomb was a great spire of black stone, ornately carved with disturbing images of carnage, torture, and demons of varying deformity. The apex of the tower was beyond my sight, hidden in the gloomy overcast sky.

"So the son has returned?" The voice spoke so gruffly it was near a feral growl. A fanged mouth set in a grotesque face twisted itself into a grimace. Three men stood at the top of the stair case leading to the tomb's entrance. The speaker glared down at me with dark red eyes. His strange blue-black hair was held back in a low pony tail. He didn't wear armor, having only black garments on his form that made no attempt to hide the tail behind him. Belial snarled in my ear.

"This is no affair of yours, Adrian! Stand aside!" A feral sound rumbled from the other demon's throat.

"Don't dare to order me, pup, it was your _father_ that defeated us, not you." I had nearly missed his companions entirely. One stood further in the shadow of the tomb, an equally large being, pale of skin and thin of build. His toned arms were folded over his bare chest. Black was the order of the day it seems, for that was all I could see below his waist, upheld by a silver skull buckle. His crimson half lidded eyes stared at us in silent judgment. Raven hair shifted as he tilted his head to focus on me. Did he know why this demon king wanted me? Or was he just as in the dark as Belial?

"Belial travels on the business of our lord, Adrian, best you not accost him." That voice couldn't be further from first demon's. It was sophisticated, deliberate, clear, and carried with it a flowing near musical quality. Its origin sat upon the railing, leaning against a pillar and resting his feet upon the railing itself. His robes were blindingly pure white, catching the last rays of the failing sun through the graying clouds. His serene cracked silver mirror eyes seemed to have no focus, set in that ethereal face, but I couldn't help feeling he was peeling away the skin and bones, seeing more than crude matter. Only the blood red brand above his brow, half hidden by cascading of silver hair, whispered that this was no holy creature.

"Be silent!" Adrian spat, turning his glare on the ethereal man. "I will be returned to the pit before I am ordered by your kind!" I shook my head in an attempt to clear it of thoughts revolving around fatigue, hunger and thirst. I was fading, swaying slightly on my feet. I was lucid enough to note that the silver haired man made no comment, as if he had decided the argument was not worth the effort.

"So very crude, Adrian, so very crude…" An electric shock went down my spine. How could such a languid tone carry so much latent malice? The outspoken demon visibly stiffened and turned sharply as a dark haired man stepped to take his place. His form was wrapped in white robes embroidered with black sigils that seemed to writhe imperceptibly on the cloth. His eyes, those pale blue eyes… They were for me alone. I was petrified. His lips curled into a perverse smile.

"So… this is the Magnus I have been awaiting so patiently all this time for." He was three feet away. He reached up and, with surprising gentleness, tilted my head to the side, examining me. "I felt it, you know, when that meddlesome Zephyrus awoke your mother's heritage. It was a like feeling a pulse from a long dead corpse." He stepped away and held his arms out wide. "It awoke me, the old me, the new me, my hopes and ambition! After dragging years, an old plan has finally taken the next step forward."

"…What the hell-" Wesley had barely started to speak before Belial slammed him to the ground face first. I winced. The unnerving demon man did not even blink, nor did his smile waver.

"Quiet, fool!" Belial's voice stood uncertain on the border of rage and frantic nervousness. He quickly stepped over Wesley's groaning form and took a knee. He bowed his head in supplication.

"Father, I have done as you asked. I have brought this… Magnus." He sounded as if he wanted to say something less pleasant, but he still said my name with scorn. The demon king, for I couldn't imagine who else it could be, began to walk around me in a slow circle, dissecting me with his eyes. I could barely move a muscle; much less untie my tongue to speak. He addressed Belial.

"I see you did, Belial, and I see you have accorded the prisoners your usual level of care…" The tone was more of bemusement than anger, but Belial blanched. He bowed lower, nearly hitting the sand with his forehead.

"If I have not followed your order-"

"But you have, what nonsense you let slip through your teeth, he is here in a single piece, is he not?" He stopped circling directly behind me. Belial sagged slightly with relief. The demon placed his hands on both my shoulders. "But I have not introduced myself. I am the lord of lords, the abyssal crusader, the demon king, I am Azazel. You may call me father. So now… sleep." An overpowering drowsiness was laid upon me. The jolting fear forcing my alert deadened. My world faded to dreamless sleep, a welcome oblivion…

* * *

"…This gauntlet shall be the catalyst of your awakening." I gasped for breath and clawed at the iron grip around my throat. It was dark, underground probably. We must be in Raithwall's tomb. What was left of it, the tomb's interior had been torn to pieces. Below me yawned a dark abyss and only the choking hand around my neck held me aloft. The pale eyed demon smiled at me.

"W-Who?" I can't say I was sure what I wanted to ask. He held out his right hand to the side and darkness seemed to coalesce in his grip. He stood at the end of a long stone walkway jutting out over the abyss. It abruptly ended halfway across, where Azazel held me over the edge.

"Zephyrus awoke half your inheritance by jump starting it with his own power, but I prefer to do things my way." I… I remembered.

"You can't be-"

"Blood is blood, and mine flows in your veins..." The darkness in his hand took form and solidified a curved ebon sword. He swung it up in an arc and held it horizontally to my forehead. A sharp prick of pain burst there as it delivered a shallow cut. I gritted my teeth and tried to focus on breathing. Azazel's languid eyes followed a drop of my blood along the sword's edge. "You with pass through this trial and emerge something quite different. I have great plans for you, my son." He smiled again and drew the sword aside. He let go and the blade tumbled end over end into the blackness, flicking blood droplets along its way. Screeching and muffled roars echoed up to my ears, hungry.

"What is this place?" I gasped out. For the first time since I had laid eyes on him, Azazel looked away from me. He stared into the depths with a wistful expression.

"This is a place of disposal, a prison for traitors and those too wild to be controlled. For you, it is a path of pain." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Escape this place, Magnus, and all answers will be yours." I opened my mouth to speak, but never got the chance.

Suddenly I was falling…

* * *

**General POV**

"What does that bastard plan to do with that boy?" The fanged Infernal Lord paced irately far above where Azazel had dropped Magnus. On the shadowed stone catwalk, he and his peer watched their superior walk away from the edge.

"Do you want my opinion, or are you being rhetorical?" Onikage opened his eyes and frowned at his fuming counterpart. The bare-chested demon was utterly impassive, his arms crossed in perfectly statuesque stillness. Adrian snarled and turned his glare upon the other.

"Don't pretend, you'd be outright stupid if you weren't as disturbed by all this as I am!" He snapped. The other demon held his gaze impassively. Adrian snorted. "Fine, keep your council, but you know as well as I that Azazel would sacrifice us in moment. Whatever he plans with this boy could ruin us." Onikage tilted his head, unsure whether or not to share what he knew. His indecision was short lived.

"How much do you know about the Armash?" Adrian's fanged mouth twisted into a sneer at the question.

"Is this a joke? I killed the Armash and took all secrets of value. Their stragglers have been trying to assassinate me ever since." His contemptuous laugh gave ample proof to how unthreatened he felt. The other was as unimpressed as ever.

"You slaughtered them, but Azazel went to their compound after your onslaught. I was with him; there he retrieved a scroll with some very curious prophecies on them." Adrian scowled.

"These plans of his are based off the ramblings of old senile Armash? Is he mad…"

"You have a disturbing lack of understanding for the originators of the very rituals you used to empower yourself." Onikage observed. The fanged demon only scowled more deeply.

"Enough, what did the damn prophecy say?" He snapped. Onikage stepped from the shadows to stand beside Adrian at the edge.

"They spoke of 'A Dark Wind that paves the way of Lament, a Fell Gale that awakens the Bloody Avatar, and a Maelstrom that tears away the Door of Night'."

"What does any of that mean?" Adrian hissed.

"Isn't it obvious? This Magnus is a child of a wind elemental princess and a demon king, darkness and wind. Azazel believes he is the key to his conquest… the specifics of what it all means, I can only speculate."

"All for a mad man's ramblings," Adrian fumed. "Are you the only one that knows? What have you been planning all this time, skulker?"

"Somnus knows, though I'm not sure how. He may know more than I."

"You didn't answer my second question." Onikage gave no answer. He stepped forward off the ledge and, in a near unnoticeable burst of dark magic, vanished. The fanged demon scoffed and walked away down the stone walkway.

"Skulker,"

* * *

**Wesley's POV**

"Ugh" That just about sums up my most coherent thought right now. I felt like a pack of behemoths had been using my body as a punching bag. That wasn't actually too far from the truth. When that weird demon had carted off Mag that Belial bastard had his goons drag me… wherever the hell this is. One of them had torn away my coat. My pants were more or less intact but my shirt was in rags. I was suspended from the ceiling in a small, very dark cell, one manacle and chain per wrist. They weren't the fuzzy sort of manacle either, in a few hours my wrists will be bleeding if I keep struggling. I have to keep struggling; someone needs to bail Mag out of this, right?

"I'm afraid your name is a mystery to me…" I heard the light voice before I saw his face. A torch on the wall next to the entrance spontaneously sprung to life. I recognized the voice but it was the hair that cinched it, silver down to his shoulders. The freaky cracked mirror eyes stuck in the memory pretty well too.

"I'm Jimjim, the tap dancing moogle chocobo jockey, can't you tell?" He didn't even crack a smile. He stepped further into the light. I hadn't seen it before, but there was some sort of weird brand carved into his forehead. His hand slipped up to touch the mark lightly.

"…I was not always in the service of Azazel. After I deserted the ranks of heaven, I became an Infernal lord. There were nine of us once. Then Azazel killed the rest one by one, save for three he made his lieutenants." I'd love to know where he's going with this, he's interrupting my escape brainstorming. Is there a point to being sarcastic in my head?

"Whadya want, jerk? I've got stuff to do…" His hand dropped and he went right back to creepy staring.

"At that time, there was a demon knight that served me. He was something of an outcast as well. He lacked much of the contempt and cruelty others of his kind reserved for the mortal races. You bear his scent." I stiffened. If he was talking about what I thought he was… I gritted my teeth. He was toying with me!

"What are you saying? Get to your point!" The silver haired man lifted his left hand and I saw it wasn't empty. He was holding two longswords made out of some kind of opaque black crystal, and took a step closer. There was a blur of motion and a metallic shattering sound. I hit the ground like a sack of rocks, collapsing in a heap. A sharp pain shot up my already sore legs. I could feel them starting to mend though. I could feel my demon blood more and more these days.

"After his death at Azazel's hand, I kept his swords as a reminder of his dedication. They are yours by right." There was a screech of metal on stone as the sword blades were driven into the stone inches from my head. "They are fine weapons, forged of Ebonite, a rare crystalline form of darksteel. He called one Crescent and the other Dusk." He stopped talking, waiting for me I guess. I forced myself up to a knee. Even with superhuman healing, my body was still sore down to the smallest muscle. I felt weak. I managed to take a close look at the swords. The hilts were very fancy, covered with all sorts of intricate designs, like thorny vines and spider webs. I looked up at him. He gave me little nod toward the blades. With just a little hesitation, I wrapped my hand around the hilt of one of the swords.

"Whoa!" I gasped as the hilt conformed to my hand, like it had been made for me. Silver eyes, I'll call him that for now, gave a little approving nod.

"They recognize the pieces of their old master in you. A knight like he forms a symbiotic bond with his weapons over centuries of use, each makes the other stronger." Don't I know it… I could feel energy flowing from the sword, just like I started feel flowing through me back in Rabanastre before I blacked out. Strength returned to my body, more strength than I'd ever had before. I wrapped my other hand around the second sword's hilt. I stood and yanked both swords up with me in a screeching shower of sparks. Each straight double edged blade seemed to pulse. It felt great!

"Not that smart, empowering your prisoner." I gave him a lopsided grin. He didn't react, hell he didn't even move a muscle like he was waiting or something. Well fine then! I'd like to see him bleed! I pulled back my right arm and prepared the sword, a voice in the back of my head whispered _Dusk_, for a swipe. "Out of my way!" I could feel the air humming with the aura rising off of Dusk now. I grinned from ear to ear. I swung as hard as I could. There was a great crash of energy discharging and my arm felt like someone had tried to wrench it from its socket. Silver eyes was just standing there. One arm lazily raised, the edge of Dusk resting against the back of his hand. He wasn't straining, I hadn't even broken his porcelain skin.

"So much wasted energy. You're more a danger to yourself than another, fighting in such a manner." Silver eyes said dryly. A pulse of force sent me skidding across the floor to hit the far wall with a crunch of cracking ribs. Dusk and Crescent skittered away from me. Suddenly he was standing above me, silhouetted by the torchlight, I could only see his eyes clearly, glowing slightly. "You will never even be able to defeat Belial in this state, let alone an Infernal lord or a creature on Azazel's level." I felt like a piece of me had been torn away. I was too shocked to feel anything but awe.

"W-what do you want?" I stammered out. This guy could literally crush me in a few seconds. His cracked mirror eyes looked right through me.

"I am Somnus, an Archangel fallen from grace, and I have little desire to be Azazel's pawn." He turned and soundlessly walked back out the way he'd come. The torch extinguished, and I was left in darkness again. His voice drifted back to me. "If you desire the power to aid your friend, seek me out. If you prefer, you may take your chances with escape. I would not recommend it, few of the denizens of this place have the same restraint as I."

* * *

_Note from the Author_

_What are Azazel's plans for Magnus? Will the machinations of the other Infernal lords disrupt them or play into his hands? What is the meaning of the Armash prophecy? What do the Anemoi want? Who is Kain Arganar? All answers lie onward in the Inferno Order._

_Inferno being the word for Hell in Italian along with several other Romance languages, and not simply a fiery vortex_

_I must say it is good to be back and good to start the second arc of this story. As for my absence, let's just say the college application process is a special sort of hell and leave it at that. The less said the better._

_I'd like to extend my special thanks to Realms of Destiny for giving me a nudge with a PM two weeks ago. It was then that I manage to get myself motivated enough to write this. I'm not entirely happy with the demon behemoth fight scene but I can't wait to read what everyone has to say. Remember, I thrive off reviews. The more interest I know people have, the easier it is for me to motivate myself to write._

_On the subject of BIOs, I can happily say that each and every character submitted thus far has a planned role in my fic as of now. Some may not appear until the next arc, but rest assured, I have a place for each one. I still encourage new readers to submit characters, but I no longer guarantee they will appear in the fic. They might if I can fit them in and I like them, so work very hard on them! Even if they don't, I do have a sequel in the planning stages they may find themselves in… Remember, only one character per reader._


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